2023 'Reed' Marlborough Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
Full screwcapped bottle a heavy 1,426 g. The Reed Vineyard is at the confluence of the Wairau and Waihopai Rivers in Central Wairau, owned by Pete and Anne Reed. 100% clone 95. Thin topsoil over stones and clay. Unsettled weather at flowering led to looser bunches and lower yields. Hand-picked. Cloudy, free-run juice spontaneously fermented in oak puncheons (40% new). Spontaneous malo. Matured for 11 months in the same French oak puncheons, and bottled unfined and unfiltered 28 February 2024. TA 5.6 g/l, pH 3.23. C ertified Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand and Appellation Marlborough Wine. Marked struck-match flinty aroma. Not excessive unless you don't like this style of barrel-fermented Chardonnay. Like flinty Meursault, this has a clementine aroma and flavour as well as the creamy/mealy richness of the oak. Both mouth-filling and precise with great freshness and length, deep in citrus, just slightly toasty on the aftertaste but not oaky. Totally engaging and hard to spit, with, I suspect, long ageing potential. (JH)
Critic scores
Average Score
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2023 Reed Chardonnay leads with toasty reduction, curry leaves, yellow peach, salted nuts and brine. In the mouth, the wine is carried in this same style, and it works so well. The curry-leaf character really is an accentuated character here, so if you're not into it, it won't work so well for you; but I happen to love it, so I am enjoying the wine immensely. This demands a full-sized Burgundy glass to really make the most of the extension of flavor through the finish. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
This young Chardonnay is pure, clear and focused. This savory, stylish, slender-style wine clearly comes from a cool climate and has excellent purity. It's restrained with flinty, nutty characters dominating at this early stage. Any stone fruit flavor will likely come through with more bottle age. I enjoy these reductive styles young, but the 2023 is admittedly still a caterpillar rather than a butterfly.
At this young stage, the 2023 Chardonnay Reed Vineyard shows its winemaking choices in its struck flint aromas and smoky bacon-like flavors. Some might find that off-putting, but those who like their Chardonnays funky rather than fruit-filled will enjoy this. The 2023 has a piercing personality and a line of acidity that sings through its pure core. You can expect substance and richness of texture on the mid-palate and through to the finish. Savory, smoky flavors and touches of white stone fruit and citrus linger long. This is young and firm—another year in bottle would serve it well.