2020 Pyramid Valley Lions Tooth Chardonnay

95 Points Richard Caro
In stock
A top Chardonnay from one of Pyramid Valley's famous home blocks. Named for the dandelion in this vineyard, this plot of close-planted vines on the eastern slope near the winery. A complex and intense wine, it is packed with mouth-filling textures and evocative flavours. Collect!
$108.00 in mixed 6+ or $120.00 per bottle

Grape

Pinot Noir

Its Origins

As described in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate by Lisa Perrotti-Brown: "You may think you know New Zealand wines but I can assure you that until you have tasted Pyramid Valley, you have no idea. When I first sampled the earliest releases from this left-of-center producer, I was so drawn to the signature, ground-breaking if, at that time, not altogether flawless wines that I vowed to pay them a visit as soon as possible (which, given their location, is easier said than done). There was a spark of “otherness” about the wines that was so unlike anything else in New Zealand, it was difficult to say if proprietors Mike and Claudia Weersing were geniuses or mad or mad geniuses. I’m still kinda thinking there’s an element of the latter going on here but at least my first visit in 2011 and follow-up visit this year have confirmed to me that they are most definitely wine geniuses. Having searched New Zealand for their ideal plot of land to produce Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of the very highest quality, the Weersings were tempted by comradery to plant amongst their friends in Central Otago. But it was the unique, clay-limestone soils and scarp slopes near Waikari in North Canterbury that stole their hearts. In 2000 they planted vines in one of New Zealand’s newest and remotest wine regions…so new and remote it still doesn’t really have a name other than “North Canterbury”. Claudia is the biodynamic green-thumb and Mike is the Burgundian trained winemaker in this small-scale, hands-on operation. Everything in the fields and winery is as natural as natural can be and anyone who has followed the wines over the years will know, from tasting if not knowledge, that Mike has tested the boundaries of no / low sulfur additions and now seems to have a knack for adding just-enough to ensure stability without compromising the couples’ ethics. The results speak for themselves: astonishingly good, terroir-expressive wines that will challenge all your preconceptions."

What The Critics Say

Winemaker notes

Foot stomped and whole bunch pressed. Vineyard yeast ferment, aged in French oak barrels. 20 months on lees in barrels, then aged on light lees for 6 months in stainless steel prior to bottling unfined and unfiltered in June 2022. Golden straw colour with a bright Meyer lemon hue. Sunny aromas, with nectarine and buttercup sitting amongst the mandarin, ripe lemon and fresh cashew nut. Immediately open and concentrated on the palate, grilled stonefruit, lemons, marscapone, flowering thyme, oatmeal biscuit and distinctive grilled cashew nut; richness is ever present then becomes confined by the feel of limestone chalkiness and salt.

96/100 Vinous, Rebecca Gibb MW (2019 vintage)

"Step back, clear the area; the 2019 Chardonnay Lion's Tooth is one concentrated powerhouse of a Chardonnay. It is an incredibly concentrated wine hailing from a parcel with a high proportion of active limestone, bringing length and texture. There's this almost lemon-like line of acid (50% of the wine is composed of the Mendoza clone), as if a bayonet is striking through its core. There is flesh on the elegant midpalate and restrained flavors of nectarine and almond (17 months on lees) and lemon. This is winemaker Huw Kinch's first vintage at Pyramid, and if he can make this on his first attempt, I may be a bit too excited about future bottlings."

96/100 Bob Campbell MW (2019 vintage)

"Intriguing pinot noir with violet, black cherry, dried herbs, baked-earth and five-spice flavours offer an appealing fruit-and-savoury contrast. An elegant rather than blockbuster wine that is richly-textured with an impressively lengthy finish."

Variety Chardonnay
Region Canterbury / Waipara
Closure Cap
Volume 750ml
Maturity 2022 - 2035

This Wine Goes Well With

with PORK
with POULTRY
with SEAFOOD

Taste

3

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