Corofin Marlborough Chardonnay 2022

Accolades:
93/100 – Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
93/100 – Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak (2021 vintage)
91/100 – Rebecca Gibb MW (Vinous) (2021 vintage)

“Quite saline, with a little fino sherry (or sake) nuttiness, slight struck match, nectarine and grapefruit, with some seaweed, sweet spices and chamomile. It’s tight and juicy, pink grapefruit and stone fruit, plenty of chalk and chew to texture, nutty and almond milky, with a bright core of citrus acidity and a bright finish of excellent length and zing. Lovely wine. Distinctive and individual.” – Gary Walsh, The Wine Front

Tasting Note: Pure and textured; driven by precision from Wrekin and substance of the Folium. A mixture of cooler citrus, lime; layers of lees and oyster shell are framed with perfectly ripe acidity. Achieves texture and weight without richness. The 2022 growing season marked the end of a string of drought-like seasons in Marlborough. Abundant rain over the winter of 2021 continued into spring but with above average temperatures. A warmer, drier November and December promoted good flowering and fruit set across all varieties, followed by a warm settled period with above average temperatures through January. Ripeness across all varieties tracked well ahead of average with solid yields across the region. February saw a change to easterly weather pattern and, intermittent rain which continued through the key harvest period from early-March to mid-April.

Winemaking Note: Source Blocks: Wrekin Vineyard (Brancott Valley) 55%; Folium Vineyard (Brancott Valley) 45% Harvested: Wrekin March 19th, Folium March 22nd. Long growing season perfect for physiological ripeness. Whole bunches loaded and pressed slowly over 6 hours to small stainless steel tanks. No enzyme or sulphur additions were made during or post pressing, with a smaller, harder press fraction separated on taste and discarded. After 6 hours settling, the main press fraction was transferred, with a high percentage of solids, to 500 litre seasoned French oak puncheons and two stainless barrels for fermentation. Primary fermentation took on average 10 days to naturally initiate and 10 weeks to complete. Malolactic fermentation across both batches finished by mid-Janurary 2023, after which the young wines were topped and remained on original lees in puncheons, without stirring or sulphur, until April 2023. The components were then racked and remained separate in tank where they were sulphured and remained on lees for a further five months before assemblage in October and bottling in December 2023. This wine was bottled without fining or filtration. A small natural deposit may occur.

Certification: Organic

Alcohol: 13.5%

Variety: Chardonnay

Region: Marlborough, New Zealand