Hunter's Offshoot Marlborough Chardonnay 2022

Hunter's Offshoot Marlborough Chardonnay 2022The 2022 Offshoot Chardonnay shows a layered nose of ripe apricots and citrus characters, with a hint of toasted almonds and vanilla oak notes. Stone fruit continues through to the palate where the creamy elegant mouthfeel integrates beautifully with the French oak. The wine shows excellent structure with fruit weight on the finish. The wine can be enjoyed now but will also develop and evolve over the next 5 years. After consecutive drought years the

The 2022 Offshoot Chardonnay shows a layered nose of ripe apricots and citrus characters, with a hint of toasted almonds and vanilla oak notes. Stone fruit continues through to the palate where the creamy elegant mouthfeel integrates beautifully with the French oak. The wine shows excellent structure with fruit weight on the finish. The wine can be enjoyed now but will also develop and evolve over the next 5 years.

After consecutive drought years the 2022 growing season started with some wet weather that carried on until late spring. Excellent fruit-set early December resulted in crop levels bigger than average. Ripe flavours at low sugar levels allowed us to pick early to retain the natural acidity in the juice compared to previous years. In what will ultimately go down as a ‘challenging’ vintage, unwavering vineyard preparation delivered excellent fruit condition and flavour concentration.

Chardonnay from 30-year-old vines off our Home Block on Rapaura Road were used. Handpicked fruit was gently pressed, 100% free-run juice was immediately filled to large oak casks for a high solid, indigenous fermentation. Following fermentation, 100% went through natural malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged in barrel on lees for 12 months and a further 3 months in tank before being bottled. The oak regime consisted of 100% French oak, 30% of which were new.