Escarpment Chardonnay 2025

Escarpment Chardonnay is sourced primarily from the home block on Te Muna Road, on the alluvial terrace that gives Martinborough its distinctive character. The 2025 vintage is beautifully floral, with lifted aromatics and youthful exuberance on release - ripe peach and lemon curd sit over a flinty mineral backbone that's become something of a Martinborough signature. Cool nights through the growing season preserved freshness, giving the wine real drive, focus and precision, while the palate itself is more generous, bringing depth, texture and mouthfeel to balance that structure. Built on elegance and restraint, it's approachable in its youth, though the wine is expected to develop further complexity with a few years in the bottle.

What the winery says:
This vintage benefited from exceptional flowering, which produced higher-than-expected yields despite some spring frost challenges, followed by a season of moderate temperatures and dry conditions that allowed for extended hang time and concentrated flavour development. The fruit is sourced entirely from Martinborough, drawn from Escarpment's estate vineyards alongside carefully selected growers, and a mix of clones was whole-bunch pressed before fermentation in French oak puncheons using indigenous yeast, followed by eleven months' barrel ageing with 16% new oak.