28-Jul-2017
Chardonnay is, along with the aromatic whites, the success story of Charles Wiffen Wines. The basis of the quality and style of the wine are the established Mendoza and 15 clone vines and the meticulous viticulture. The wine is made by James Rowan and Anthony Ivicevich at the West Brook winery in Waimauku in West Auckland. In return, West Brook are able to access a supply of the Wiffen fruit for their own label. It’s an arrangement that has served both parties extremely well for several years, as the Marlborough-fruited wines under both brands have been awarded many gold medals and trophies.
Winemaker James Rowan thinks it important that the Charles Wiffen wines to express their Marlborough heritage and terroir, and I assume that although the same fruit componentry makes the West Brook Marlborough and Charles Wiffen wines, the fruit for the Wiffen bottlings is handled even more sensitively to ensure that provenance prevails over the winemakers’ hands. Nevertheless, both the West Brook Marlborough and Charles Wiffen Chardonnays are successes. Here, I review the new release 2015 Charles Wiffen Marlborough Chardonnay. www.charleswiffenwines.co.nz
