Matahiwi 2018 Pinot Gris and 2017 Chardonnay Releases

FEATURED WINES IN THIS REVIEW

• Matahiwi ‘Mt Hector’ Wairarapa Pinot Gris 2018
  Pinot Gris from New Zealand - Wairarapa & Wellington

  Review Date : 18-Jun-2018

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Bright, light straw-yellow colour, lighter on the rim. The nose is very fresh and bright with banana and confectionary-like fermentation esters, revealing white and yellow florals, pears and nuances of tropical fruits. The aromatics form a softly concentrated core. Medium-dry to taste and medium-bodied, the palate has restrained flavours of florals and pear fruit along with bubble-gum fermentation esters. The flavours are rounded and along with the soft acidity form a gentle heart. The wine flows softly along a smooth palate line, leading to a light finish. This is a clean, medium-dry, rounded and smooth Pinot Gris with light floral and pear fruit lifted by fermentation esters. Serve with Middle Eastern fare over the next 2 years. Estate fruit fermented in stainless-steel to 13.0% alc. and 9.5 g/L RS. 16.0+/20 Jun 2018 RRP $16.99
• Matahiwi Wairarapa Pinot Gris 2018
  Pinot Gris from New Zealand - Wairarapa & Wellington

  Review Date : 18-Jun-2018

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Bright pale straw-yellow colour, lighter on the edge. The nose is elegant in presentation with a soft, fine heart of white and yellow stonefruits and pears, along with exotic florals, a little honey and a subtle lift by fresh fermentation esters. Dryish to taste and medium-bodied, the palate has fresh and crisp fruit flavours of white and yellow stonefruits along with notes of pears, exotic florals, a little honey and subtle lifted fermentation esters. The mouthfeel is zesty, with brisk acidity, but balanced by the fruit richness providing an underlying roundness and a suggestion of unctuousness. The wine flows smoothly and with good energy to an elegant, lingering, aromatic finish. This is a refreshing, off-dry Pinot Gris with stonefruit, pear and floral flavours on a rounded palate with underlying acid zestiness. Match with Asian fare over the next 3 years. Fruit from the ‘Home’ vineyard, fermented in stainless-steel to 13.0% alc. and 5.5 g/L RS. 17.0+/20 Jun 2018 RRP $22.99
• Matahiwi ‘Holly’ Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2017
  Chardonnay from New Zealand - Hawke's Bay

  Review Date : 18-Jun-2018

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Full, even, light golden-yellow colour, paler on the rim. The nose is softly full and voluminous with rich and well-packed aromas of ripe yellow stonefruits and citrus fruit, along with subtle creamy barrel-ferment notes and nutty oak elements, unfolding some mealy complexity. The aromatics are harmonious and form a deep core. Medium-full bodied, the palate has well-concentrated, lively and vibrant flavours of stonefruits and citrus fruits, along with subtle notes of nutty, toasty oak, mealy detail, unfolding a little barrel-ferment and MLF creaminess. This has good depth and the mouthfeel is enlivened by refreshing acidity. The wine carries to a long, nutty, toasty and mealy finish. This is a refreshing and zesty Chardonnay with a deep core of stonefruit and citrus fruit flavours along with meal, nutty and toasty oak detail. Serve with grilled and roasted seafood, poultry and pork over the next 4 years. Mendoza and clone 15 fruit from a single vineyard in the Dartmoor Valley, fully barrel-fermented, 60% by indigenous yeasts, with high solids to 13.5% alc., the wine aged 11 months on lees in 40% new French oak with 30% MLF. 18.0+/20 Jun 2018 RRP $31.99
• Matahiwi ‘Holly’ ‘South Series’ Wairarapa Chardonnay 2017
  Chardonnay from New Zealand - Wairarapa & Wellington

  Review Date : 18-Jun-2018

  ☆☆☆☆☆

  Bright, pale, lemon-hued gold colour, lighter edged. The nose is very fresh and bright with vibrantly aromatic aromas of yellow stonefruits and citrus fruit, unfolding lifted oak vanillins and nutty detail, with some creamy barrel-ferment elements. The nose is fine and refreshing in expression. Medium-full bodied, the palate has a refined and elegantly concentrated core with tightly bound flavours of citrus fruit and yellow stonefruits, along with subtle nutty and creamy barrel-ferment density. The fruit vibrancy is enhanced by fragrant, lifted oak. The mouthfeel is poised with fresh acidity balancing the fruit depth. This has freshness and vitality, and carries to a taut, sustained finish of citrus fruits, nuts and oak. This is a youthfully fresh and finely elegantly concentrated Chardonnay with stonefruit and citrus fruit, along with subtle nutty oak on a palate with vitality. Match with seafood, poultry and pork over the next 4-5 years. Clones 95 and Mendoza fruit from the ‘Home’ block, vines planted in 2013, hand-picked and fully barrel fermented with high solids, partially by indigenous yeasts to 13.0% alc., the wine aged 11 months in 30% new French oak, undergoing batonnage and 80% MLF. 18.5-/20 Jun 2018 RRP $33.99