2024 Black Estate Home Chardonnay, North Canterbury

A beautiful chardonnay sourced from the clays of Black Estate's Home Block, established in 1994 and 2011. Light straw in the glass with enticing characters of pristine peach, white nectarine and citrus fruits over hints of clover and meadow flowers, crème fraîche, roasted cashews, nougat and gently spiced vanillin oak. I'm loving this wine's composition, clarity and length of flavour. It's fruit pure as can be, the acidity fine and energetic, and those nutty, creamy flavours stretch out luxuriously on the finish. Drink to 2034.

94+ points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, June 2026

Light gold. Immediately complex on the nose with layers of fruit, sandalwood and exotic spice. The palate is just as bewildering and rich, spanning vetiver, dried herbs, preserved lemon and ripe apricot to chestnut cream, nutmeg and ground coriander. Zingy acidity underlines the broad array of flavours before settling on the long finish onto a lightly tangy creamy texture. Approachable now, this minimal-intervention wine has the concentration and drinkability which gives it broader appeal than many of its peers. Drink to 2032.

94 points Stephen Wong for The Real Review, January 2026

Energetic, complex and layered, with aromas of poached peaches, grilled pineapple, lemon tart and toasted almonds. Medium- to full-bodied with a compact texture and crystalline acidity driving a long, spicy, chalky finish. Focused and precise. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

94 points Andrii Stetsiuk for James Suckling, October 2025

Natural wine lovers will love the 2024 Chardonnay Home, but so will mainstreamers. Don't expect a clinically clear white wine, as this is unfined and unfiltered, but that means all the good stuff is left in. Appetizing gourmand textures give the palate a creamy richness with savoury and toasted notes, while intensely concentrated flavours of preserved lemon, just-ripe nectarine and a flick of flint unfold. This minimal-intervention wine was carefully made. Though young and still raw, it's ready to evolve over the coming five to eight years. Drink to 2032.

93 points Rebecca Gibb for Vinous, February 2026

Black Estate's certified organic and biodynamic Home vineyard was planted in 1994 and 2011. Located in the Omihi district of Waipara Valley in North Canterbury, the 12-hectare fan-shaped slope faces north, with vines planted in sedimentary clay soils.

The 2024 season started after good winter and spring rains, with rains at flowering disrupting fruit set at a degree, leading to smaller bunches and yields. The rest of the season was trouble-free, with steady warmth during the days and cool nights.

The fruit for this wine was whole bunch pressed over a four-hour press cycle and the juice placed in well-seasoned tight-grained French oak puncheons, with a tenth being of second use. Fermentation was initiated with a cultivated yeast strain obtained from this vineyard, and the wine spent a total of eleven months in the barrels during which it went through full malolactic conversion. The components were blended in stainless steel and the wine allowed to rest for three months before it was bottled without fining or filtration with a small protection of 56ppm of sulphur dioxide.

About this producer

Black Estate is a family-owned and operated wine estate established in 1993 by Russell and Kumiko Black, and purchased in 2007 by its current owners, Nicholas Brown, Pen Naish and her family.

Located in North Canterbury’s Omihi, its current holdings include 24 hectares across three certified organic and biodynamic hillside vineyards, with a fourth one under a long-term lease contract. Their focus is on single vineyard expressions of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the two varieties supported by smaller amounts of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Viognier, Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc.

Nicholas manages all aspects of viticulture and winemaking. He relies on good viticulture to produce excellent fruit for the wines that are vinified with minimal intervention practices that include fermentation with indigenous yeasts and bottling without fining or filtration. Minimal sulphur is used at bottling, and only if deemed necessary.