Jules Taylor Marlborough Chardonnay Bottle

MARLBOROUGH

CHARDONNAY

Chardonnay is one of the unsung heroes of Marlborough but also a wine that can divide the room! Jules’ take on this variety is a far cry from the big buttery Chardonnay-bombs from the 1990s. Instead Jules prefers a wine with delicate freshness and attractive fruit flavours that express the vineyards in which they were grown. With only 10% new oak and a partial malolactic ferment, this elegant wine that will convert even the most die-hard chardonnay-basher!

Regular price
$143.90 NZD
Sale price
$143.90
Regular price
Sold out
Unit price
per 
Includes 15% GST. Shipping calculated at checkout.
For shipping within New Zealand

JULES TALKS CHARDONNAY

What do you look for in the perfect Chardonnay? Jules explains what she looks for when making her Marlborough Chardonnay.

FOOD MATCH

The delicious flavours in this wine are fantastic to pair with food.

It’s perfect with a simple barbequed chicken or with fresh seafood flavours such as crayfish (lobster) tails and garlic butter. Alternatively it would be sensational with corn fritters stacked with a rocket (arugula) salad and a smoky salsa.

WINEMAKERS NOTES

The fashion for chardonnay used to be the big, buttery, oaky wine. Do we care for fashion? Pah! This is a wine that is fresh and has great fruit flavours that express the vineyard where it was grown.

AROMA & FLAVOUR

This wine is layered with fragrant aromas of red apple, nectarine and lemon peel alongside toasted almond, nougat, a touch of spice and vanilla. On the palate, juicy apple and nectarine flavours are balanced by crisp citrus notes and refreshing acidity. Wild ferment and barrel aging has added complexity, nutty nuances and a weighty texture. The wine concludes in a dry, lingering, elegant finish.

VINTAGE NOTES

The 2022 season started with a very wet spring following hot on the heels of above average winter rainfall. Budburst was earlier than in 2021, and the vines’ potential for the 2022 season was there for all to see! Settled weather in late spring led to a good flowering across all varieties and some high temperatures in January made for healthy canopies that were well poised to carry the fruit through to ripening. Temperatures cooled down leading into harvest and a spell of rain in February made for some slightly nerve-wracking moments. But in the end, in typical Marlborough fashion, the sun came out and the vines worked their magic! Both vineyard sites for this wine are in drier, more sheltered locations with even soils leading to beautiful even ripeness in the fruit as it arrived in the winery.

VINIFICATION

The fruit for this wine came from the two beautiful vineyards in Marlborough’s Southern Valleys: Meadowbank Estate in the Taylor Pass and the Anderson Vineyard in the Brancott valley. The grapes were harvested carefully by hand and machine then taken to the winery for fermentation using a variety of techniques. Whole cluster pressed portions went directly into French oak barrels for a wild ferment on high solids. Other portions were tank fermented and some were cold settled and partially tank fermented and then sent to barrels mid-ferment. The yeast lees in the barrels were stirred occasionally over a seven month period to add body and complexity, and the wine underwent full malolactic fermentation to add further complexity. After its extended nap in the barrels, the various parcels were blended, stabilised then bottled.

Incredible fruit flavours with mouth-watering, mind blowing intensity.