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2021 Escaroth Vineyard Chardonnay Magnum
$150.00 NZD
Wine Description
Vineyard: Escaroth Vineyard
Subregion: Taylor Pass
Region: Marlborough
Vintage: 2021
Soil Type: Low-vigour ancient clays
Clone: Clone 95
Viticulture: Dry-farmed and Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand Certified (SWNZ)
Growers: Andy and Kyna Laurie
Winemaker's Notes:
This special one-hectare parcel of Chardonnay is perched on a high, north-facing slope in the Southern Valleys’ Taylor Pass subregion. The vines were originally planted in 2000 and are now established as a dry-farmed block. The naturally small yields of the 2021 vintage has resulted in an exceptionally concentrated and lengthy fruit profile of grapefruit, lemon and white fleshed stone fruit alongside subtle toast, grilled hazelnuts and a hint of flint. Bottled without fining or filtration
Reviews:
96 points - Bob Campbell MW (#1 Marlborough Chardonnay)
95 points - Cameron Douglas MS
95 points - Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
94 points - James Suckling
2019 Vintage:
"The Best New Zealand Wines to Try Now"
"New Zealand’s newest Master of Wine, ex-solicitor Sophie Parker-Thomson, has been making small-batch wines from Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough with her husband Matt since 2013, but this is her first vintage of this single-vineyard chardonnay. Putting paid to the outdated notion that female winemakers make “feminine” wine styles, Escaroth is declamatory and bold with burnished, golden fruit and buttered brioche held aloft by a fine net of acidity." Sarah Heller MW, HK Tatler Magazine, June 2021
Top 100 New Zealand Wines of 2021 - ''Very impressive complexity and purity here with struck-match, grapefruit and lemon-peel aromas, as well as peach and some gently creamy notes. The palate has vibrant peach and lemon-curd flavors and grilled hazelnut warming the finish.' 93 Points' James Suckling, 30 November 2021
17.5+ Points "A little less open than the Reed Vineyard Chardonnay 2019 and more savoury. Less stylised, it seems, though still a definite ‘reductive’ aroma and style. Intensely mineral on the palate with outstanding intensity and freshness, with remarkable precision and crystalline purity on the palate thanks to the vibrant fruit, with citrus and blackcurrant bud. Juicy fruit even with all this sophistication, adding sensual pleasure to the cerebral attraction of this wine. Poised, complex, with good ageing potential. Julia Harding MW | JancisRobinson.com 27/01/22
94 Points "A suave and seamless Chardonnay that's very relaxed in its own skin. This low-yield season has provided excellent fruit concentration. The combination of barrels and puncheons infuses a nutty, savory element and there's also an appetizing waft of smoky bacon. A fine line of lemon-peel-like acidity emerges on the mouthwatering finish. Excellent harmony and will improve with additional bottle age allowing the oak aromas to soften. This is the cuvée's inaugural vintage, and I cannot wait to see the next". Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous Media November 2020
94 Points "From a north-facing slope in the Southern Valleys Taylor Pass. Concentrated savoury chardonnay with chalky, oyster-shell, mineral, grapefruit, hazelnut, almond and baguette crust flavours. A youthful wine that promises to develop well in bottle." 22/5/2020. Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review
94 Points "Intense aromas of wood smoke and barrel spice then ruby grapefruit, peach and baked orchard fruits. Youthful and very inviting bouquet. On the palate - weighty, silky, warm, fleshy, spicy, smoky and dry. Fruits flavours reflect the nose with yellow fleshed stone fruits, some apple and grapefruit. Lovely wine on the palate - a Chardonnay lovers paradise. Still developing so no rush to drink till mid, even end of, 2021 and through 2025." 31/05/20 Cameron Douglas MS
4.5 Stars "The very ageworthy 2019 vintage (4.5*) is a single-vineyard wine, grown at Taylors Pass, in the Southern Valleys. Hand-picked, it was fermented with indigenous yeasts in French oak barriques and puncheons (30 per cent new). Bright, light lemon/green, it has a fragrant, youthful, complex, slightly smoky bouquet. Weighty, with generous, grapefruit-like flavours, a subtle seasoning of oak, excellent complexity, balanced acidity and a tight-knit finish, it should be at its best 2022+." Michael Cooper, Michael Cooper's Buyer's Guide 2021.
Winemakers Notes
This single vineyard rendition of Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from the Holdaway Family vineyard at Dillons Point – our favourite sub region for the variety. It is a classic expression of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, being 100% tank fermented, but it offers complexity of texture and a mineral drive that summons river stones and sea spray. Blackcurrant, guava and passionfruit are captured alongside the subtlest hint of oyster-shell. This wine is focused and explosive on both nose and palate yet remains elegantly balanced and distinctly salty.
Reviews
94 POINTS - ‘Intense, aromatic sauvignon with pronounced passion fruit/tropical fruit flavours together with grapefruit, red capsicum, oyster shell and gooseberry supported by vibrant juicy acidity that helps drive a lengthy finish.’ BOB CAMPBELL MW
93 POINTS - ‘Juicy aromas of greengage and honeydew are trimmed in slight flint and vetiver. The palate is tight, crisp and linear with saline tension built from reduction and phenolics. Slightly awkward presently with a bony, steely austerity to the midly astringent grip on the finish, but this will resolve in the next year to reveal the sweet apple fruit hiding within the mineral shell.’ STEPHEN WONG
5 STARS - ‘This single-vineyard wine is grown at Dillons Point, in the lower Wairau Valley. Already delicious, the distinctive 2024 vintage has a fresh, fragrant bouquet. Mouth-filling and vibrantly fruity, it has a lovely array of pure, penetrating fruit flavours - passionfruit, peach, pear and lime - a slightly salty streak, and a crisp, dry, lingering finish. Best drinking mid-2025+.’ MICHAEL COOPER MA ONZM
95 POINTS - ‘A stunning example with a bouquet of minerality and salty air, scents of nettles and tropical fruits, cape gooseberry and citrus peel. As the wine touches the palate the impacts of acidity and fresh citrus fruits are revealed first, then apple and fresh sage, basil and aforementioned tropical fruits. Saline and fresh, a delicious wine with a decent palate squeeze. Lengthy and well made with best drinking from day of purchase through 2029+.’ CAMERON DOUGLAS MS
17 POINTS - ‘Intensely aromatic and immediately recognisable as Marlborough Sauvignon, both peapod and more exotic passionfruit, plus grapefruit and blackcurrant leaf, even a touch of capsicum. Tastes dry and extremely crisp, though there is a roundness and depth in the mouth from the sweetness of fruit, which is more passionfruit and guava on the palate as it warms up. Treads a fine line between fruit sweetness/intensity and crisp elegance. Chewy finish – from the lees – and extremely moreish in its freshness. Intense but not excessively pungent, with a long, rich but dry finish. It may well age longer but I'd enjoy this while the fruit is so vibrant.’ JULIA HARDING MW | JANICSROBINSON.COM
94 POINTS - ‘The 2024 Sauvignon Blanc Holdaway Vineyard provides a vivid, vibrant, crisp and crunchy expression. It's finely flavored but not overt: expect a salty note like the sea air, lemon, passion fruit and snow pea flavors lending back up. Despite its assertiveness, it is finely poised and has a much better sense of direction than I do, providing line and length.' REBECCA GIBB MW | VINOUS.COM
92 POINTS - ‘The aromas of currant bush, passion fruit and green melon are subtle. Medium-bodied, refined and textured. Understated Marlborough sauvignon. Drink now. Screw cap.’ JAMES SUCKLING
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