2024 Man O' War Valhalla Chardonnay, Waiheke Island

A full-bodied chardonnay style, light straw with characters of juicy peach, nectarine, baked apple and custard apple. Hints of crushed herbs, soft spice, crème fraîche, apple pastries, wildflowers, marzipan, vanillin oak and stone. High tensile acidity drives the wine along, and the finish is sustained with a decent stretch of flavour and tautly defined fruit. Drink to 2031.

93 points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, January 2026 

A focused, well-made chardonnay with an enticing nose of spiced apples, warm herbs and cedar. Medium-bodied with fresh acidity. Linear and tactile with a long, flavourful finish. Sustainable. Drink or hold.

92 points Kevin Dacy for James Suckling, October 2025

About this wine

The fruit for this wine was hand-picked from estate vineyards across a number of days. The parcels were crushed to press and transferred directly to French oak puncheons of which a quarter were new. The hot and fast fermentation started with indigenous yeasts, and the wine rested in the barrels for 11 months without malolactic fermentation or lees stirring.

About this producer

The Spencer family has farmed the eastern end of Waiheke Island for over a century — a 4,500-acre coastal property of rugged hillsides, cliffs and sheltered bays that Captain James Cook noted for its towering kauri trees in 1769. Vines were first planted in 1993 across steep hillside blocks, each with its own soil profile and microclimate. Today 150 acres of dry-grown vines spread across 76 individual blocks, with winemaker Duncan McTavish and vineyard manager Matt Allen steering Man O’War for over a decade. The estate has become known particularly for its well-structured Bordeaux-style blends and Syrah wines that display a maritime edge reflecting both the ruggedness of the site and the warmth of the island’s sheltered valleys.