An expert explains why the time to discover Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay is now

If one vintage could make the case for drinking Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay, 2024 would be it.

An exceptional season that delivered perfect fruit ripeness without sacrificing the region’s signature natural acidity, 2024 will already be in the cellars of those who know – and for those who don’t, the quality-to-price ratio alone should be temptation enough…

Though best be quick.

‘It was an incredible harvest from a quality point of view,’ says viticulture consultant Ollie Powrie, ‘but tempered by the fact that yields were so low.’

This was a legacy of disrupted flowering and, many suspect, a delayed vine response to the extreme conditions of Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023.

Matt Kirby, chief winemaker at Clearview Estate, draws a comparison that will please collectors.

‘2024 reminded me of 2021 – smaller crops, but great brightness and intensity,’ he says. Phil Brodie, senior winemaker at Te Mata Estate, concurs, placing 2024 alongside the excellent 2021, 2014 and 2007 vintages.

‘All rich wines with focusing acidity that gives tension, energy and the ability to age gracefully,’ he explains.

With two further excellent vintages following immediately on its heels, there has rarely been a better time for wine drinkers to pay attention.

Evolving quality

The 2024 successes are really the culmination of a longer story. Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay quickly shed its early opulent, golden, heavily oaked incarnations to establish itself as a region capable of consistently delivering fresh, texturally complex, ageworthy wines.

The shift reflects both evolving winemaking philosophies and deeper understanding of the region’s remarkably diverse terroir; the legacy of four major river systems that criss-cross its subregions.

Given its relatively compact size, Hawke’s Bay’s terroir and climatic variations are notable, elongating the Chardonnay harvest across a couple of months. The variety accounts for 1,034ha of the region’s 4,574ha of vineyards.

Subregional styles

Of the main subregions, the Gimblett Gravels’ free-draining, heat-retaining riverbed soils tend to produce weightier, structured styles with yellow-flesh stone fruit generosity.

The nearby Bridge Pa Triangle, with heavier red clay-loam and slightly cooler conditions tends to be more textural, restrained and mineral.

Closer to the coast, the limestone/clay soils around Havelock North and Te Awanga provide chalky grip and savoury complexity, while cooler inland sites such as Mangatahi promote white-flesh stone fruit, citrus and silky textures.

Further south and inland, the cool, limestone hills of Central Hawke's Bay are just starting to be explored.

Many wines draw fruit from across the region but there are substantial, and increasing, numbers of single subregion and single vineyard bottlings.

If there is a common regional thread, it's a dense core of ripe peachy fruit and defined, juicy natural acidity.

Owning the Chardonnay story

In many ways Hawke's Bay is something of an anomaly in the New Zealand wine landscape, producing relatively little Sauvignon Blanc and only small amounts of Pinot Noir.

The sunny, dry maritime climate suits an impressively wide array of varieties, and is one of the few New Zealand regions that reliably delivers impressive Syrah and Bordeaux reds.

But Chardonnay is increasingly what the region is hanging its hat on, now hosting a semi-annual symposium dedicated to the grape.

Viticulturist and AONZ co-owner Steve Smith MW observes that the variety has always been a significant part of the story for most Hawkes Bay producers, where other varieties have come and gone.

But he adds: ‘Hawke’s Bay has not owned its Chardonnay story until now. I think it has taken a while for producers to realise that being able to do lots of things well is not a value proposition and Chardonnay can be something that we can do really well.’

Tony Bish, who has made Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay for over 40 years, and now makes only Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay at his eponymous urban winery, points out a further advantage.

‘You can consistently make really good Chardonnay; even in difficult years such as 2023, the wines still looked great, whereas the trickier years can really punish the reds.’

In the winery

Winemaking is typically hands-off, largely centred around whole-bunch pressing, high solids and indigenous yeasts, fermented and matured in French oak.

Increasingly older and larger formats of oak are being used, while concrete, clay and tank also abound.

Malolactic fermentation is a common temper for the region’s bright acidity, though it’s generally used with restraint.

It’s not often you see ‘buttery’ in a tasting note anymore. Even the strong reductive characters that were briefly fashionable have settled into a happier place of struck match and flint.

Chris Scott, chief winemaker of Church Road, believes: ‘Chardonnay, more so than any other variety in Hawke’s Bay, makes itself as long as you look after it in the vineyard.’

Delivering great value

The top wines have a proven track record for cellaring, with a sweet spot around a decade or so, where the primary citrus and stonefruit gives way to toasty, savoury complexity.

They remain considerably underpriced for the quality, particularly when compared to their white Burgundy peers, and top Chardonnays from the US and Australia.

As Brodie notes somewhat ruefully: ‘The best wines are so undervalued – great as a wine drinker, but tough as a producer.’

Despite growing positive critical attention, Hawke’s Bay is yet to enjoy the breakout moment that, say, Central Otago Pinot Noir has enjoyed.

But the 2024 vintage may just be the year that changes things…

Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay: 12 brilliant bottles to try

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