Domaine Rewa Chardonnay 2013
This fabulous example of a cool climate chardonnay is all about contained precision. The scents it offers up are subtle, yet from the first sip you know you’re in for a rare treat. Creamy peach and citrus notes, seasoned with a touch of flint and savoury spice, are served up bone dry. It is mouthfilling, concentrated and vibrant. “Perfect balance – nothing sticks out,” noted Andrew Parkinson. It is the kind of modern, lean chardonnay that pairs so well with oysters and other shellfish dishes.
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Domaine Rewa, as its name suggests, is a New Zealand winery with a leaning towards the old world. Its proprietors are Philippa Shepherd and her French husband, potter Yannick Fourbet. For the past 11 years, Shepherd has been based in London where she currently works for Deutsche Bank. She grew up on an Otago farm, and at the urging of her family back in New Zealand, bought a small (5.5ha) established vineyard in the Cromwell Basin in 2009. Shepherd and Fourbet wanted a name that straddled both their lands and cultures; “Rewa” was chosen as it was the given name of Shepherd’s grandmother. The vines are a mix of pinot noir, pinot gris, riesling and chardonnay and were planted in 1997 on an elevated site near Pisa Moorings along the Wanaka Rd. The vineyard is farmed biodynamically by viticulturists Grant Rolston and Gary Ford and 2013 was Domaine Rewa’s third vintage. Production is small – only 3000 bottles of the 2013 chardonnay were made – but a push is being made this year to increase the label’s presence in fine wine stores and restaurants around the country.
Winemaker Pete Bartle regards the vineyard’s chardonnay fruit as among the best he has seen from the region. Shepherd’s instructions to him were simple: “Please make the chardonnay in a subtle, old world style.” That it has won over Fourbet – a diehard lover of his own country’s wines and previously something of a Kiwi wine sceptic – suggests the brief was answered.