New Release

This is a genuinely historic bottle — the first commercial Chardonnay harvest from Doctor's Flat Vineyard in Bannockburn, Central Otago. Planted in 2020 with clones 548 and Mendoza, this 2024 marks the beginning of what promises to be a remarkable chapter for one of the region's most thoughtful organic producers.

The vineyard sits on schist subsoil ground from the Cairnmuir Mountains by glacial ice some 480,000 years ago. Millennia of weathering have generated an abundance of clay and fine silt in the vineyard gravel — and as the winemakers put it, soil texture drives wine texture. The result is a Chardonnay of real density, finesse, and a textural quality that is unmistakably site-driven.

Farmed organically to foster the symbiosis between vine and soil biology, the wine is made with the same minimal-intervention philosophy applied to the Pinot Noir: whole bunch pressed, fermented in barrel with indigenous yeast, with ML delayed until spring and SO2 held back until late summer. Racked with light lees to tank and bottled after a second winter, this is a Chardonnay of precision, restraint, and genuine sense of place. Organic and vegan-friendly.

Food Pairing

Crayfish, pan-seared scallops, roast chicken with herbs, or aged comté. The schist-driven texture and mineral precision make it a natural match for elegant, clean-flavoured dishes.