Goldie Estate’s Zell Chardonnay 2020 has been honoured with a prestigious Gold Award by dish magazine’s Tasting Panel. This year dish magazine conducted its largest tasting to date, with over 180 entries, making this recognition a significant achievement for Goldie Estate.
The winning wines, including Goldie Estate’s standout Chardonnay, will be highlighted in the September issue of dish magazine, titled Save On Flavour, focused on making the most of seasonal and low-budget ingredients to make gorgeous meals at home.
Zell is the name of our small, 0.58ha, single vineyard Chardonnay block on Waiheke Island with vines aged 27 years. Kim and Jeanette Goldwater produced many iconic Zell Chardonnays from 1997-2008 that received rave reviews at the time and gathered a “cult” like following. In 2010 this wine was rebranded as Goldie Estate Reserve Chardonnay.
The Goldie Estate Zell Chardonnay 2020 signals the rebirth of this once iconic wine and plays tribute to the dedication and pioneering spirit of Kim and Jeanette Goldwater.
2020 marked an incredible growing year, with a warm, long and dry summer season. The grapes were hand harvested in the early morning to preserve freshness and at a ripeness level that aimed to retain slightly higher acidity, to ensure structure and longevity. In the winery, the grapes were gently whole bunch-pressed directly to French oak barriques, 20% of which was new. Spontaneous fermentation took place in barrel followed by partial malolactic fermentation. After 12 months in barrel the wine was racked with the fine yeast lees to stainless steel for an additional 3-month maturation. Bottled with no fining and only a light filtration.
Winemaker notes: The nose delivers a fine constellation of dried flowers and citrus peel, offering up a pretty bouquet of crisp orchard fruit, oatmeal and beeswax. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, elegantly textural and charming, built around ripe but lively acids and concluding with a delicately saline finish.
To grab a couple of bottles of this award-winning wine for yourself, head to our online store.