Vavasour Marlborough Chardonnay 2005

The Marlborough Express, 23rd Aug 2007

This wine is a little beauty, from it's lovely lemon gold colour to the buttery, creamy stonefruit aroma. If you have the will power, try to spend some time with this wine's aroma first, it's very enticing with its delicate lemon blossom, creaming soda and biscuit notes.

I said the wine was silky, Peter said it was chewy, but we agreed the wine was delightful. Soft acids and a dash of alcoholic heat combine with the flavours of biscuits and late season peaches. There's a hint of ginger spice at the back of the palate and some pleasant toffee/ butterscotch flavours that team up with the citrus fruitiness at the finish.

Vavasour Marlborough Chardonnay 2005

Peter Shaw, Waikato Times, 18th July 2007

(The Wine) has open stonefruit aromas, and peached and cream on the palate. There is a clean citrus finish. It has some oak in the mid palateand some complexity.

Vavasour Marlborough Chardonnay 2005

Charmian Smith, Otago Daily Times, 4th July 07

(It) is a stylish wine with wonderful balance of bright citrus and stone fruit, textural nutty butterscotch overtones with a hint of toast and a long, harmonious finish.

Vavasour Marlborough Chardonnay 2005

Graeme Barrow, The Northern Advocate, July 07

It  is rich and mealy, with peach and butterscotch, concentrated and powerful.

Vavasour Marlborough Chardonnay 2005

Sommnet Keith Stewart, 6th May 2007

Look: Light yellow gold.

Smell: Ripe, pretty nose has delicious fruit character and a nicely gentle spice.

Taste: Soft, supple, firm impact with a distant hint of lime and excellent soft, lightly creamy texture. Plenty of oak spice throughout and the finish is lingering, soft and charming. Attractive wine has bags of charm and an element of finesse that has mineral tones.

Vavasour Marlborough Chardonnay 2005

Geoff Kelly Reviews, April 2007

Lemon with a straw wash. Bouquet on this wine makes a dramatic statement... showing remarkably overt Vogel's wholegrain mealyness from barrel ferment and lees autolysis. Palate is very rich, the spirit and oak interacting to be a bit harsh as yet, but the flavour of golden queen peaches and creamy / mealy autolysis is quite superb... There is no edition of the remarkable Vavasour Anna's vineyard Chardonnay for 2005, so this is their top wine for the year. In a year it should be very exciting big chardonnay indeed. Cellar 5-8 year.

Vavasour Marlborough Chardonnay 2005

Food and Beverage Magazine, April 07

Royal Easter Show Gold Medal Winner

A complex wine for the chardonnay lover. Deep fruit characters, some oak and malolactic creaminess nicely salted in there with the intensity fruit (sic). Quite mouth-filling and best with dinner. In no hurry for a couple of years.

Vavasour Marlborough Chardonnay 2005

Sue Courtney - wine of the week.com, 15th April 2007

Wine of the Week

It's light lemon gold in colour with aromas of meal biscuits, stonefruit and spicy oak that carry through to the rich fat palate. It's a mouthfilling style, quite bright and tangy with citrus, tropical fruit, hints of pineapple and that underlying spicy, mealiness from the yeast lees combining beautifully with the lightly toasted oak... It's smooth and creamy, powerful and long.

Vavasour Marlborough Chardonnay 2005

WineNZ Magazine, Autumn 2007

Appealing, subtly nutty nose. Fresh fruit flavours along with  tasty, yeasty notes. Moderate concentration and nice oak

Vavasour Marlborough Chardonnay 2005

Winestate, February 2007

Tight, lemony, Awatere Valley wine with a subtle seasoning of toasty, nutty oak and excellent depth.  Refined, with cellaring potential. 4 Stars.