The fruit for Meadowbank's Chardonnay comes from the property’s oldest vines, which are P58 clones now well into their 30s. Peter Dredge describes the vineyard as a "beautiful little spot" with loose sand and sandstone overlaying dark brown coffee rock rich in iron oxides. The fruit was picked over two passes — top and bottom of the block at slightly different ripeness levels — ensuring sufficient acidity to balance the ripe-leaning nature of the clone. The fruit was pressed as bunches to French barriques (10% new) for natural fermentation, with MLF arrested partway through, before nine months' maturation on lees.
In the classic Meadowbank mould, it's focused and chiselled with a rocky palate layered with citrus, white flowers and crunchy stone fruits. Signature cool-climate acidity pulls everything together, leading to a tapered, pulpy finish teeming with slaty drive.