The top chardonnay from Brancott Estate has been garnering its share of accolades over recent times. This 2016 release is …

Clearview and chardonnay have a long, happy association and fans of the label will enjoy this new offering. It has a …

Winemaker Steve Skinner has crafted a lovely expression, where lemon curd meets smoky flintiness. They grow and dance in step …

NEW KID NAILS IT First sole-charge winemaking gig, first vintage, first in the Cuisine chardonnay tasting. Not bad at all. …

“Beautifully framed with a slaty purity that grows through the palate,” noted John Belsham. This is a juicy, fresh style …

This is deceptively complex wine. Charming aromatics – sweet corn, stonefruit – usher in a rich, generous mouthful enlivened by …

This wine is grown close to the sea on the Wairau bar. “The fruit is pristine and a wonderful marriage …

This delightful chardonnay from the practiced hands at Villa Maria has focus and tension. Great acidity and flinty energy lift …

Making one of its regular appearances in our top 10 is this latest offering from a vineyard with a great …

Organically grown by Geoff and Nicola Wright, the founders and proprietors of this Gisborne label, this chardonnay excited the panel. …

The rich, creamy-textured, exhilarating style that Clearview Reserve is so well known for continues to strut its stuff with this …

This chardonnay, from an established Marlborough name, is quick on its feet. With a flavour profile featuring fresh fennel, juicy …

OTQ stands for ‘On The Quiet’, and this is something of a quiet achiever. Behind a veil of flinty complexity …

“Very attractive oak and ripe fruit,” noted Michael Brajkovich. For a young wine, it has come together well, the elements …

A smart expression from an experienced player. Flinty characters are a feature, and play a role in giving the wine …

Winemaker Jamie Marfell continues to explore his Rapaura terroir with this delightful expression. Flintiness bolstered by smoky oak are balanced …

The nose is muted, but in the mouth this wine has plenty to say. White stone fruit, mustard seed, citrus …

South Island-based Tiki obtained Hawke’s Bay grower fruit to produce this exciting addition to its top-tier KORO range. The aromatics …

You don’t get much better value than this. It’s full, rich, ripe with attractive flintiness and great balance. There’s a …

All class from Taylors Pass once again from Villa Maria. It’s a flinty, zesty style, green-edged and citrusy in flavour …

Grown in the Benmorven vineyard in Marlborough’s southern valleys, this wine can look standoffish early but has a lot to …

Big in price, but quite restrained in personality. This is an intriguing wine, with attractive stonefruit and a seam of …

The Irongate is the pride of Joe Babich, and deservedly so. This 2015 release has that earthy complexity that is …

Winemaker Simon Nunns has gone the full monty here. Dark straw-coloured, it’s an oaky, toasty wine with a strong fruit …

This is a fragrant style, fresh white flower scents to the fore. In the mouth sweet tropical fruit notes (guava, …

This wine is a bit of a bodgie – young, not such great manners, but with a heart of gold. …

The 2015 Huntaway continues the label’s tradition of delivering big in the value-for-money stakes. Built around a base of lovely …

This wine was made by Brent Marris in honour of his father the late John Marris, who helped develop the …

There’s a lot to like here. At the wine’s centre is a solid heart of citrus-infused fruit, over which sits …

Waiheke Island enters the frame with this gorgeously ripe, rich chardonnay. Attractive fruit, over-flowing with lemon and nectarine flavours, finesses …

Grown on the slopes above Waiheke’s Onetangi Beach, this wine has a cool, calm demeanour. The fruit has good depth …

There’s only one problem with Central Otago chardonnays – there aren’t enough of them. This lively wine is a good …

“Wonderful length and precision,” noted John Belsham. This wine does have panache, offering plenty of peachy stonefruit and a fine …

Grown on the Jomara Vineyard at Onetangi, this is a distinctive wine. At its core is an insistent, slaty, saline …

For the past several vintages, the Spy Valley chard has been one of the best buys around. This release is …

Made by the man (Richard Painter) who also crafted our top wine, this is a delightfully intense expression. Flinty finesse …

Grown at Marisco’s Waihopai site, this wine is made in a crowd-pleasing style. It has good weight and an abundance …

“Delicate style with a rice paper texture,” noted John Belsham. This Awatere Valley-grown wine has poise and flow, with citrusy …

Attractive spicy red apple and flinty complexity mark this chardonnay’s flavour profile. It’s a textured wine, well-balanced, finishing with length …

The ever-reliable Hawke’s Bay Cellar Selection is one of those can’t-go-wrong chardonnay options. The 2016 version has real stuffing. It’s …

Grown at various sites, mostly in the Wairau Valley, this presents quite a different style to its Hawke’s Bay cousin …

This is a typically smart, nervy, persistent Villa Maria Marlborough Reserve style. “Lovely vibrant fruit, and good length”, noted Michael …

This top tier Waipara Hills chardonnay is all restraint and charm. Floral scents lead through to a juicy, bright mouthful …

Crafted by Ben Glover from fruit grown on the Glover family vineyard, this is a bright, flinty, exuberant expression. Juicy, …