2025 Verdant

VIBRANT, ELEGANT & TEXTURAL SANDSTONE AGED CHARDONNAY

Aromas of fresh lime and lemon intertwine with refreshing mineral notes and subtle mealy complexity. Bright and tightly focused, the palate is mouthfilling and finely textured, with a moreish savoury, saline finish. Beautiful purity, balance and length, with clean, linear precision.

Vintage 
2025 was an outstanding vintage for Chardonnay in Hawke’s Bay. A warm growing season combined with cool nights and settled harvest conditions produced fruit with excellent concentration, natural acidity and purity of flavour. The resulting wines show freshness, balance and a clear expression of their individual sites

Vineyard
Kokako – Ohiti Valley

Winemaking
Hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed, with only the free-run juice selected for fermentation in the sandstone jarre. Natural fermentation to dryness and malolactic fermentation to completion, followed by 11 months ageing on lees, with occasional stirring to keep the lees in suspension. Unfined and minimally filtered.

pH 3.52 TA 6.9 g/L Alc 13.0 %v/v

Reviews
95/100 Camdouglasms.com Cameron Douglas – Master Sommelier

Sandstone Jarre
The jarre beautifully expresses the more crystalline and mineral components of the Chardonnay particularly accentuating it’s purity, freshness and linear high tension, which lends itself to the high acidity, intense citrus and minerality of resulting wines from the Ohiti Valley.

The unique “coralie” shaped jarre is crafted with broad shoulders and a narrow base to allow the lees to naturally and lightly remain in suspension throughout it’s winemaking life.
The sand stone jarre has a porosity of < 2.5% allowing for very long slow micro oxidation in comparison to a barrel which is 3-5% porosity resulting in greater micro oxidation.