2023 Pyramid Valley Chardonnay, North Canterbury

Genuinely old vines provided the fruit for the 2023 Chardonnay North Canterbury. Hailing from a frost-affected season, there's concentration here, yet it is open and approachable. It's intriguingly textured: initially succulent, with a gourmand sense of chew that lingers on the mouthwatering finish. Its cool-climate acidity provides lively brightness. Expect fruit flavors of lemon, honey, nectarine and lees-derived nutty pastry on this young but ready-to-drink Chardonnay.

90 points Rebecca Gibb MW Vinous

The 2023 North Canterbury Chardonnay leads with a creamy nose of crushed nuts, almond meal, white orchard fruits and custard apple. In the mouth, the wine is textural, powerful and full of flavor, with a creamy finish that trails out over the finish. This is a ripe wine defined by its lees complexity and construction. There's an open-weave aspect to this wine that is very appealing. It's floral too. It matured in French oak for 12 to 18 months prior to bottling without fining or filtration. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

92 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate

Youthful, varietal, waves of intensity showing ripe stone fruits then barrel spices, plenty of lees action then grapefruit, peach and red apple. Delicious on the palate with complex flavours and textures. Lemonade lemons and grapefruit, wild flowers and white soils peach and red apple flavours are framed polished tannins and a delicious saline and salivating acid line. Well made, lengthy and youthful. There’s some tautness as well an elegance inviting a glass pour immediately

95 points Cam Douglas MS

Pyramid Valley is one of New Zealand's most revered and collectible wineries, producing wines of remarkable purity, precision and a profound sense of place. Guided by a philosophy of organic and biodynamic farming, the estate has earned a cult following for wines that faithfully express their vineyard origins. The North Canterbury Chardonnay is a superb example of this approach, combining elegance, texture and mineral drive in one of New Zealand's most compelling cool climate Chardonnays.

Drawn from organically farmed vineyards in North Canterbury, the 2023 vintage benefited from a long, even growing season that delivered fruit of exceptional balance and concentration. Wild fermentation, extended lees ageing and sensitive French oak maturation build complexity and texture while allowing the vineyard's distinctive limestone influenced character to remain at the forefront.

The colour is a brilliant pale gold with subtle green highlights. Aromas of white peach, grapefruit and preserved lemon are layered with white flowers, toasted hazelnut, oatmeal and delicate flinty notes. The palate is beautifully detailed, balancing vibrant citrus and stone fruit with creamy texture, fine oak and a chalky mineral backbone. Bright natural acidity carries the wine through a long, seamless finish, where hints of roasted nuts, wet stone and citrus zest linger with exceptional precision.

An outstanding match for roast free range chicken, grilled crayfish, seared scallops, mushroom risotto, roast cauliflower with brown butter or aged Comté. Enjoy now for its youthful energy or cellar confidently for eight to twelve years as further complexity and depth emerge.