Description
Zephyr Chardonnay | 2021
Established in 1985, the Glover Family Vineyards have inspired the family’s passion for winegrowing. This Single Vineyard Organic Chardonnay expresses the ethereal, aromatic and structural flair of the Dillons Point Sub-Region in Marlborough, New Zealand.
The Specs
Vineyard | Brawn Vineyard
Vine age | 24 years
Alcohol | 13%
TA | 6.3
pH | 3.38
RS | 0
State | unfined | unfiltered
Colour | clean | pale yellow straw
Nose | spice | citrus | lemon curd | subtle funk
Palate | savoury brioche | crisp | texture | line
Ben says | “Handpicked, pressed direct to barrel, feral ferment. Marlborough Chardonnay, flint, funk and lime; a coiled spring with richness and freaky talent”
Food | crayfish bisque | paua ravioli
Life | 10 years
Bottled date | 31.8.2022
Bottles | 1901
Awards & Reviews
2021 vintage
93/100 | Wine Enthusiast
2020 vintage
Champion Organic Trophy
2023 Marlborough Wine Show
92/100 Huon Hooke
Light, bright yellow hue with smoky reductive aromas overlying charcuterie and nougat notes, the palate savoury and intense and showing real complexity of fruit and artifact flavours, the finish dry and chalky textured with good backbone and food-friendly grip
94/100 Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier
Fantastic bouquet with aromas of fresh white and yellow peach, gun flint and white spice, citrus and apple then vanilla with a fresh cashew nut quality from barrel. Excellent weight and texture on the palate with a velvet mouthfeel then flavours of apple and grapefruit, peach and gunflint. Salivating and fresh, medium+ weight and a lengthy finish.
93/100 | Anne Krehbiel MW Decanter
Smoke, cold ash and dried corn husk make for an intriguing and appetising nose. It is on the palate that all these notions are framed and pervaded by bright lemon that underlines the immense freshness of the wine. There is beautiful drive and linearity here, real energy pushing everything forward and making you want to take another sip. Wonderfully resonant and long with both smoke and lemon. This single-vineyard organic Chardonnay from Dillons Point in Marlborough wears its oak and spontaneous ferment notes with aplomb.
93/100 Wine Rater
Intense, complex, funky, sulphide-influenced nose with aromas of grapefruit, nectarines, struck match, flint and toast. Medium bodied, elegant, racy style with a creamy mid-palate and an oily viscosity. The structure is dry, taut, and lemony fresh, not unlike a very good Macon-Villages.
92/100 James Suckling
Reductive and smoky white with dried mango, spiced pear, apple, lime curd and cedar. Medium-bodied with bright acidity. Intense and vivid chardonnay with excellent length. From organically grown grapes.
2019 Vintage
Gold | NZ International Wine Show
92/100 | James Suckling Review
This has rich-peach aromas with lemon curd and zest, as well as a spicy hazelnut edge. The palate is nicely spliced with supportive oak influence. Fresh peach and lemon flavours hold the finish.
94/100 | Sam Kim | Wine Orbit
This bright like a yellow diamond 2019 release is one that any chardonnay fan will enjoy I’m sure. That’s because it’s just darn yummy, beautifully balanced, fat and juicy, with a bit of smokiness, ripe grapefruit.
94/100 | Cameron Douglas MS
A very youthful, vibrant and expressive bouquet with aromas and palate flavours of white fleshed tree and stone fruits, pear and American pink grapefruit then layers of oak, but not new wood – just a lighter toast and mild scents of baking spices and raw sugar. Texture on the palate is a feature accentuating the spice, acidity and wood. A flinty mineral note adding complexity and charm. Nice lengthy finish, well made and ready to enjoy from late 2020 through 2025.
5 stars, Yvonne Lorkin
Darn yummy, beautifully balanced, fat and juicy…Love it.
94/100 | Wine rater
Heady, and lemony on the nose with complex sulphide characters, and notes of nectarine, vanilla biscuits, and white pepper. A wine of two halves, the nose suggested a full figured wine, but the palate while having a tasty, oily richness is lemony, and fresh with a salivating, acid structure, and a lingering finish.
2017 Vintage
- Gold, Royal Easter Wine Awards, 2020
- Gold, Royal Easter Wine Awards, 2019
- 95+, New World Wine Awards, 2019
- 92/100, 4 stars, Bob Campbell MW
- Silver, Wine of the Year, 2019
5 stars, #2 Chardonnay, Best Buy | Cuisine 2019
Grown from vines that are over 30 years old, this perfectly balanced wine makes a serious impression. Youthful with generous fruit flavours that are elegantly oaked and punctuated by some intriguing flinty notes. A very focused palate with genuine length.
5 stars | Michael Cooper, The Listener, 2020
This classy, complex wine was grown in the lower Wairau Valley. Mouthfilling, with a slightly smoky bouquet, it has intense, citrusy, slightly biscuity and creamy flavours. It is very finely balanced, with a long finish.
95/100 | Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, 2019
This wine has a great bouquet with aromas that first reveal their shape and form then slowly layer in white and yellow orchard fruits, some barrel spices and fine oak flavours. On the palate the wine is dry with contrasting fruit and oak flavours layered in, vibrato, plenty of energy with palate textures, a distinctive saline, flinty layer and long finish. The complexity will continue to build over time. Balanced and very well made. Drink now and through 2024.
93/100 | James Suckling, 2019
A very complex and sophisticated style with a bright, elegantly perfumed nose that offers plenty of bright pears and peaches. The palate has a very juicy and attractive feel with plenty of plush, bright and juicy stone fruit and a lightly spicy, savory finish. Drink now.
2016 vintage
- Blue Gold, Sydney Top 100, 2019
- Silver, Royal Easter Wine Awards, 2019
- Top 10, Cuisine Wine Awards, 2019
- 95+/100, Premium NZ Wine Awards, 2019
91/100 | James Suckling, 2016
Some clever winemaking input here, delivering flinty, chalky, stony aromas across lime and white nectarine fruits. The palate has a neat ball of ripe white peach fruit. Acidity sits nicely. Smooth nutty notes through the finish. Drink now.
4 stars | Wine State, 2019
Nicely done, not forced but a lovely gentle chardonnay with plenty of flavour, some new oak very much in support.
2015 vintage
- Silver, Air New Zealand Wine Awards, 2019