Esk Valley Artisanal Chenin Blanc

It’s a place. It’s a winery. It used to be called Glenvale (not to be confused with Gloriavale!) but we now know ’em as Esk Valley.

Built in 1933 by an Englishman (Robert Bird) who produced fortified wine from the 30s through to the 70s until the Esk name was created for a premium range of table wines. These days owned under the umbrella of the highly successful Villa Maria brand, although they do operate as an independent winery with their own winemaking team and vineyards including winemaking legend Gordon Russell.

The Esk Valley Artisinal range is a new fine wine range that’s been given a bit of what they like to call “the Gordon Russell treatment”. That means letting one of NZ’s true greats in winemaking roll up his sleeves and craft seriously good value wines true to variety and style. In this case we’re talking about Chenin Blanc – one of those styles you may not have ever tried, but once you do, trust us, you’re hooked.

Scoring 4 1/2 Stars with critic Michael Cooper who said “Well worth cellaring, the youthful, vigorous 2022 vintage (4.5*) was fermented and lees-aged in tanks and seasoned oak barrels. Bright yellow/green, it is fragrant and mouthfilling, with very good intensity of ripe, peachy flavours, showing a distinct touch of complexity, and a dryish, finely balanced finish. Best drinking 2025+.”