Family Reserve Chardonnay 2020

Reserve

Family Reserve Chardonnay 2020

Bright, classy and immensely satisfying. The twelve months in barrel have only enhanced the fruity punch of pineapple and peach all balanced to a fine richness that lasts on the palate.

Another fabulous Chardy from our Moutere clay soils, ready when you are.


        $40.00 NZD

        Tasting Notes

        Our Family Reserve Chardonnay 2020 is a highly-textured wine with intense sweet pineapple, bran and butterscotch flavours.

        After a year in barrel, it shows an elegant richness, a well-structured mid-palate and extraordinary focus and length.

        Read Winemaker’s Notes
        The Schwarzenbach Family (from left: Thomas, Daniel, Isabelle and Ursula) during a wine tasting at their winery. They stand behind a table with Blackenbrook bottles, some glasses and flowers for decoration. In the background you can see the Blackenbrook cartons neatly stacked onto pallets.
        White bird nets draped over the vineyard at sunrise.

        Reviews

        94/100 Cameron Douglas MS, camdouglasms.com

        Ripe, pure, fresh and sophisticated bouquet with scents of fresh white and yellow stone fruits, a lemon citrus quality and layers of oak complexity. There’s a stone clay mineral quality and some white flowers scents both layering depth and complexity. Dry on the palate with silk and satin textures touching first then flavours of grapefruit and lemon, peach and apple.

        Acidity is strong and carries the flavours well, tannins are fine from both fruit and oak layering a decent mouthfeel and adding to the length and finish. A lovely example, well made with best drinking from 2023 through 2028+

        93/100 Bob Campbell MW, therealreview.com

        Ripe peach/tree fruits with vanilla, cashew nut and spicy oak flavours. A core of sweet fruit helps make the wine even more accessible while the balancing influence of acidity gives a pleasantly dry finish.

        Good purity and a silken texture.

        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.

        Winemaker Daniel Schwarzenbach carrying a case of Blackenbrook wine through the winery. He is wearing a dark green jersey and a grey hat. In the background there are some stainless steel wine tanks.

        The season

        What a blast! The growing season was a pure delight, putting smiles on everyone’s face!

        The vines loved the gentle spring rain and quickly produced a healthy, vibrantly green canopy. In December, our Nelson sun made for perfect flowering and good pollination.

        Summer brought many weeks of blue skies, interspersed with brief rain falls, just enough to keep the soil moisture up and the vines thriving.

        We couldn’t believe our luck when we saw this weather pattern continue right into harvest in mid-March! The fruit was in perfect condition with high sugar levels and tremendous flavour intensity, probably the best we’ve ever seen it.