Te Mata Estate Elston Chardonnay

2022, Hawkes Bay New Zealand

2022 release - the 38th vintage of one of NZ's most highly rated Chardonnays!
"Elston Chardonay ’22 is expressive and moreish – a remarkable embodiment of its terroir that exemplifies the quintessential qualities of this classic Hawke’s Bay chardonnay" (Te Mata Estate)
97/100 (Huon Hooke, The Real Review) - "It is superb now and will richly reward cellaring"
A full bodied, complex style that never fails to impress year after year
Elston is jewel in the crown for Te Mata Estate's Chardonnays

Te Mata Estate Elston Chardonnay is hailed as one of New Zealand’s greatest Chardonnays. Heck, we wouldn’t wouldn’t disagree. This is a stunner every year and one we look forward to emptying a few bottles of upon release every vintage!

The 2022 is here, the 38th release of this famous label, and it’s another one to get excited about. This is the jewel in the crown for Chardonnay at Te Mata so they put their best foot forward on it every time you can be sure of that.

5 Stars (Michael Cooper, The Listener)
“Te Mata’s top chardonnay is hand-harvested from mature vines on the hills above the winery at Havelock North and fermented and matured in French oak barriques (partly new). Highly fragrant, mouthfilling and savoury, this is a refined, vigorous wine with deep, ripe stonefruit flavours, gently seasoned with toasty oak, and a rich, finely poised finish. Best drinking 2026+”

97/100 (Huon Hooke, The Real Review)
“Light-mid yellow colour; subtle nutty/nougat and wheat-meal complexities, the palate tremendously intense, bright, tensioned and focused, with terrific balance and persistence. The subtle complexities really creep up on you. Great concentration and crystalline focus. It is superb now and will richly reward cellaring.”

93/100 (Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review)
“Rich, power-packed, creamy-textured chardonnay with lemon curd, oyster shell, sizzled butter, and yellow-fleshed peach. Accessible, deliciously textural wine with an appealing thread of vibrant acidity”

They showed their secret nerdy side naming this one “Elston”, named after Elston Hall in Nottinghamshire in the UK. It’s the ancestral home of Charle’s Darwin’s family. In their words, “Darwin’s ‘theory of natural selection’ forms the basis of modern evolutionary theory, the foundation of biology.” Sheesh, can we just enjoy a glass already?

Lots of sweet stone fruit flavours and a moderately buttery finish. Drink it now or chuck some in the cellar and slurp away between now and five to six years from vintage and pair with seafood, poultry and soft, ripened cheeses.