Valhalla Chardonnay
Waiheke Island
2023

Valhalla Chardonnay

While shaped by a more compressed and challenging harvest, the 2023 Valhalla is no less compelling.  On the nose, it opens with ripe citrus peel, roasted hazelnut, and toasted sourdough, interwoven with hints of grilled peach, sea spray, and subtle struck flint.

The palate is round and savoury, with ripe stone fruit, baked apple, and lemon curd unfolding over a creamy, well-structured base. The use of malolactic fermentation has softened the acidity, bringing a warmth and harmony to a wine that could otherwise have leaned austere. The oak integration is balanced, adding spice and dimension without overpowering the wine.

The 2023 Valhalla is a wine shaped by the season and guided by experience, the result, a Chardonnay of presence, persistence, and poise.

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Winemaking

Vintage 2022 was a near perfect season with excellent conditions throughout the year with one slight hiccup being some salt damage to the leaf canopy in the vineyards due to a large storm in early February putting some pressure on the Chardonnay.


To preserve the integrity of the fruit and to give the wine an element of refinement in a hot year we carried out an early pick from our elevated hilltop vineyards which gives a fresh crisp edge to the wine. With our more sheltered sites we were able to push the fruit a little riper to provide richness and riper flavours. All the fruit is hand harvested but then macerated to the press to increase the volume of solids in the juice. The juice is left to initiate a wild ferment on full solids, quickly being transferred to puncheon at the onset. Fast ferments are favoured and then ageing on gross lees right through to blending. No malolactic fermentation or lees stirring occurs.