2018 Felton Road, Block 2 Chardonnay, Central Otago, New Zealand

Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or. Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.

The Felton Road winery in New Zealand's Central Otago was bought by Nigel Greening, a self-described Pinot Noir "addict" from England, in 2000  and has been farmed organically & biodynamically since then. Their grapes are entirely grown in their own 'Elms Bannockburn Vineyard' which has a northerly exposure to help maximise ripeness. Felton Road's winemaker Blair Walter's experience in Oregon and Burgundy has stood him in good stead for coaxing the best out of the property's vines. He adopts a 'hands off' approach in the unique three-level winery, which is built into the hillside, with the aim of producing wines of elegance, complexity and exceptional depth of fruit. The result is that Felton Road produces a rare beast - A suberb Pinot Noir wine, one of the best examples from outside Burgundy, plus an equally great Chardonnay.