Grape

Chardonnay

Its Origins

Reydan and Roger Weiss first fell in love with the beauty of Te Awanga when visiting from Germany in 2001. Together they envisaged owning a state-of-the-art winery, merging the traditional values of wine making with an innovative approach and contemporary style to produce exceptional wines to savour and enjoy. With the majestic elephant as their namesake and nestled against a backdrop of rolling hillsides, Elephant Hill spans over 25 hectares of vineyards producing classical, aromatics whites and world-class reds, helmed by winemaker Steve Skinner.

What The Critics Say

95/100 Bob Campbell MW

"Very attractive chardonnay with peach, nectarine, hazelnut and spicy oak flavours. Very tactile wine with good weight and an ethereal texture. Good purity and a lingering finish. A highly drinkable chardonnay that should develop well with bottle age. 15/3/2018." Drink 2018 - 2023

95/100 Wine Orbit, Sam Kim

"A hugely appealing chardonnay; the gloriously expressed bouquet shows white stone fruit, fig, rockmelon, vanilla and cedar characters with subtle spicy complexity. It is superbly concentrated and plush, while remaining balanced and structured, wonderfully complemented by velvety mouthfeel and creamy texture. The wine offers stunning depth and complexity. $54.00. www.elephanthill.co.nz. March 2018." Drink 2018 - 2021

19/20 and 5 Stars Raymond Chan

"Full, even, bright straw-yellow colour with lemon-gold hues, a little paler on the rim. The nose is gently full with a firm and concentrated core of yellow stonefruits and citrus fruits entwined with creamy-nutty barrel-ferment and toasty oak notes, unfolding a fresh saline-minerally element. This has elegance and good intensity. Medium-bodied, the palate is finely concentrated with deep flavours of yellow stonefruits and citrus fruit melded with nutty and toasty oak and subtle creamy barrel-ferment elements. The palate features a firm-textured core and line with brisk acidity enlivening the fruit flavours. The wine has excellent drive and carries to a long, lingering finish of citrus, spices and nutty oak. Match with grilled and roasted seafood, poultry and pork over the next 5+ years. Clones 15 and 95 fruit with a little 548, 80% from Te Awanga and 20% from the Bridge Pa Triangle, WBP and indigenous yeast barrel-fermented to 13.0% alc., the wine aged 12 months in 26% new French oak with minimal MLF. 600 cases made. Mar 2018 RRP $54.00." Drink 2018 - 2024