Hand-picked and fermented with natural vineyard yeasts and aged in 20% new French oak barrels and 38% in a concrete Tulipe for 12 months before settling in a concrete Tulipe on light lees for a further 5 months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Slightly hazy, lemon golden hue. Complex aromas of grilled nuts, citrus fruits, florals and a hint of lemon rind. Mouth-watering acidity drives the wine with laser focus, flavours of citrus fruits, toasted nuts and a creamy texture gives the wine body and weight. A classic North Canterbury Chardonnay that is fully ripe and saline.
The Producer
Wines that breathe of their place.
Our story begins in a magical place where magnificent native birds once roamed and soared, where the earth produces in abundance and the stars align for greatness. This unique site of altitude, limestone, slope, rock and rich soil is our Waikari Estate and home to some of the most profound Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines in the world. In 2018 our story breathed a new chapter when we purchased a new vineyard, the Manata Estate in Lowburn, Central Otago. The vineyard has produced exceptional Pinot Noir since 2002 and is home to our Central Otago Pinot Noir. Across both sites biodynamic viticulture and a natural approach to winemaking create handcrafted wine that breathes of its place and tastes like nowhere else on earth.
Our People
Mike and Claudia Elze Weersing spent 15 years searching the world to find the perfect place to grow grapes. In 2000, they purchased the plot of land near Waikari, that we now call home.
German-born and America-raised Claudia, was a committed biodynamicist and the guiding spirit on the land in the early years of Pyramid Valley. Mike studied oenology and viticulture in Burgundy and worked in vineyards and cellars across Europe, honing his precise vision and practice for spectacular winemaking.
Together, Mike and Claudia created remarkable wines for close to 20 years that have been recognised the world over.