Te Mata Elston Chardonnay 2023

Bright fruit, citrus and white nectarine, almond, fine spiced oak, a bit of bread dough. Juicy, white fruit and citrus, a bit of flint, a burst of flavour, some saline characters, a slight fresh pineapple thing, with a lively gently savoury/toasted hazelnut finish of excellent length. It’s a brighter, tighter, more restrained iteration of Elston, and I like that about it. It certainly has some get-up-and-go.

The 2023 Elston Chardonnay has been made since 1984, this being its 29th vintage. The nose leads with a profusion of white pineapple and green apple, roasted hazelnut/cashew and white flowers. There is an abundance of toasty oak, but it's not the main player onstage, which is great. It supports the fruit, and in the mouth, the purity and power of the fruit really emerges. There is really structural grip and shape to the wine, and the acidity is juicy and feels woven into every aspect. It is impressive, flavorsome and almost achingly intense, with great length through the finish. Recommended. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Handpicked and whole-bunch pressed, the 2023 vintage was about only 40% of its usual volume. It was barrel fermented with indigenous malolactic fermentation, in this case about 85%, with the focus being purity of acidity and fresh fruit aromatically. Matured for 11 months in French oak, the wine had some bâtonnage prior to sulfuring, which is right after malolactic fermentation.