SHEILD Chardonnay 2021

Reviews

Cameron Douglas MS: 94/100.  A delicious wine with aromas and flavours of yellow grapefruit and apple, there’s a layer of quince and mineral, a mineralised nut paste, saline and citrus, lees and barrel complexities. Nice weight and balance with flavours of fruits and nut to reflect the bouquet, vanilla and burnt butter notes, there’s a fine silky texture, raw energy and lengthy complex finish. A wine with a point of difference, great mouthfeel and detail. Best drinking from 2023 through 2027+.

Tasting note

Hazelnut, peach, butter toast and ripe citrus fruits are promised on the nose and realised on the palate. The wine is full bodied with a good core of fruit and the minerality of the Wainea Plains. The acidity is gentle yet pleasing and tapers out to a long finish. This makes an evocative aperitif that you can take through to dinner.

Aromas and flavours:

Additional information

Varietal: Chardonnay

Alcohol: 14% vol

Food match: Pair with contemporary bean or nut-based dishes, seafood and any dish built around stone fruit.

Vineyard: Twin Rivers (Waimea Plains), Nelson, New Zealand.

Vintage 2021: Mild winter temperatures resulted in a slightly earlier budburst for us on the Wai Iti terraces for the start of the 2020-21 growing season. Spring was cool and unsettled through until early December, but we were spared damage from frosts that bit at the region in October. Flowering was less than ideal with prolonged wet and cool periods affecting most varieties. We were lucky a second time, experiencing no damage from the Boxing Day hail storm that bought isolated catastrophic damage to crops around the region. The flowering conditions also resulted in small berries, light bunches and ultimately reduced yields. January bought warmer weather and drying winds throughout February. These moderate conditions resulting in restrained sugars and the retention of bright, clean acidity. A suitably challenging season which has again delivered wonderful wines. Expect vibrancy, balance and concentration from the 2021 wines!

Regional climate: Nelson’s sheltered topography gives protection from strong winds; combined with its proximity to the sea this gives milder temperatures than other South Island regions, mitigating frost risk. Regularly New Zealand’s sunniest region and with good diurnal variation this helps emphasise varietal character. High sunlight hours and a long growing season give wonderful fruit purity.

Produced and bottled by: Drinks Cabinet Limited, Atawhai, Nelson 7010, New Zealand

To all Chardonnay wines