2025 Millton Te Arai Chenin Blanc, Gisborne

The Millton family were among the first in the Southern Hemisphere to embrace biodynamic viticulture, and their Te Arai vineyard has become a benchmark for Chenin Blanc, producing wines of depth, purity and remarkable longevity.

The fruit comes from the Te Arai vineyard, located near Manutuke on Gisborne’s gently rolling hills, where river alluvial soils rich in silt, clay and volcanic ash encourage deep root systems and natural vitality. Farmed without synthetic chemicals for decades, the vines are now self-sustaining, producing small crops of intensely flavoured Chenin Blanc. The grapes are hand harvested and whole bunch pressed, with fermentation carried out by indigenous yeasts in a mix of stainless steel and old oak barrels. The wine is then aged on lees to develop texture and complexity while retaining freshness and purity.

In the glass it shines pale straw with golden edges. The aroma is captivating and layered, offering quince, pear, citrus blossom, lanolin and honeycomb with delicate hints of chamomile and wet stone. On the palate it is dry yet generous, showing ripe pear, lemon curd and baked apple balanced by bright acidity and a savoury mineral finish. The texture is waxy and supple, giving the wine a tactile richness that is beautifully offset by its natural tension and saline drive.

Expressive, textural and charged with mineral energy, this is good company to a baked goat’s cheese and caramelised leek tart, braised Lion’s Head meatballs (porcini/matsutake and taro) in broth or roasted flathead with fennel and brown butter.

Delicious now but will evolve gracefully for many years, gaining honeyed depth and nutty richness with time.