Dog Point Chardonnay 2007

M. Cooper's Buyer's Guide to NZ Wines 2010 

5 star

This consistently classy, single-vineyard wine is grown on the south side of the Wairau Valley, fermented with indigenous yeasts, matured for 18 to 20 months in French oak barriques (15 to 25 per cent new), and given a full softening malolactic fermentation. The 2007 vintage is refined, full-bodied, fresh and rich, with a complex bouquet, lively acidity and concentrated grapefruit, peach and subtle oak flavours, slightly minerally, tight and lingering. Drink now or cellar.