Reserve

Family Reserve Chardonnay 2019 (Library Wine)

Big, bold and absolutely delicious.

It’s no secret the Moutere clays produce outstanding Chardonnays. Grab a bottle to buddy up with your pan-seared salmon – a delight beyond words.

 

        $42.00 NZD

        Tasting Notes

        After twelve long months in barrel our Family Reserve Chardonnay 2019 impresses with deep flavours of toasty butterscotch and bran biscuits. Creamy and rich, it is highly textural with a lasting finish.

        Read Winemaker’s Notes
        A bottle of Blackenbrook Family Reserve Chardonnay 2019 laying on a blue table cloth.  Around the bottle there are white flowers, mussel shells, pebbles, a pencil and a pair of sunglasses - a very summery and relaxed image.
        A row of new-looking oak barrels at the Blackenbrook Winery.  They have shiny metal hoops.  In the background another row of barrels can be seen.

        Reviews

        94/100 Cameron Douglas MS, camdouglasms.com

        Aromas of ripe yellow and white fleshed stone fruits, red apple, Brazil nut and baking spices of French oak with vanilla and five spice. Complex and spicy on the palate with fruit flavours that mirror the nose, a satin cream texture with flavours of nut and vanilla, peach and mineral stony and clay qualities.
        Balanced, well made and ready to drink upon purchase and through 2025+.

        91/100 Bob Campbell MW, therealreview.com

        Creamy chardonnay with apple, citrus, grapefruit, spice, clove, ginger and caramel flavours. Quite a fresh, high-energy wine with fresh, mouth-tingling acidity. Good now but it should benefit from a few years in bottle 04 MAR 2021

        Certified vegan

        To make this wine, we haven't used classic fining agents such as fish, milk, or egg extracts and only minimal additives.

        This means our Chardonnay is very natural and vegan friendly. In fact, it is certified by the New Zealand Vegetarian Society.

        Owner and Marketing Manager Ursula Schwarzenbach standing in front of a pallet of Blackenbrook wine cartons.  She is smiling, wearing a bright red top and beautiful necklace.

        The season

        The weather gods were on our side, giving us an exceptional growing season.

        With ample spring rain the vineyard was off to a strong start and quickly grew a vibrant green canopy, the powerhouse producing the energy for the new crop.

        Grapevines are wind-pollinators and the dry and sunny December was perfect for a good, even fruit set.

        From January right into harvest a heat wave and drought gripped Nelson Tasman. Luckily our un-irrigated vines have deep roots and managed to find sufficient water deep down in the gravelly clay soils. They thrived in the challenging conditions and gave us a beautiful crop with outstanding colour and flavours. Harvest kicked off on 8 March, the earliest we’ve seen it at Blackenbrook’s ever.