Kokolo Vineyard Chardonnay 2016
Richly fruited and beautifully expressed, the bouquet shows grilled peach, rockmelon, nougat, vanilla and toasted hazelnut characters. The palate is succulent and wonderfully weighted, delivering loads of delectable flavours and creamy texture, elegantly framed by soft acidity. The wine is immediate and generous, and offers terrific drinking.
93 points
5 stars
Sam Kim, Wine Orbit
Kokolo Vineyard Chardonnay 2016
Full, light golden-yellow colour with some depth. The nose is full and softly packed with deep and voluminous aromas of rich, ripe tropical fruit and citrus fruits harmoniously melded with creamy barrel-ferment and nutty oak layers and entwined with butterscotch MLF notes. Medium-full bodied, the palate is rich and lusciously fruited with up-front flavours of ripe tropical fruits entwined with creamy and nutty oak, and buttery MLF. The mouthfeel is plush with a soft-textured core and line, with bright acidity in support. The flavours carry with some underlying alcoholic drive, leading to a long, buttery finish. This is a rich, plush and up-front Chardonnay with ripe tropical fruit, creamy and nutty oak and plenty of butterscotch MLF flavours. Match with roast pork.
17.5/20
4 stars
Raymond Chan Wine Reviews
Kokolo Vineyard Chardonnay 2016
An intensely delicious chardonnay that spit and cracks pineapple, citrus and rockets of roast stone fruit at you. The bold acidity boosts the punchy, tangerine-like texture and it oozes caramelised spices and toasty complexity. 2:53 PM 14-Apr-20It’s brazen and takes no prisoners — exactly my kind of chardonnay.
4.5 stars
Yvonne Lorkin
Kokolo Vineyard Chardonnay 2015
Brilliant light golden-yellow colour, lighter on the rim. The nose is full and soft with aromas of ripe yellow stonefruits. apricots and tropical fruits, along with creamy barrel-ferment layers, buttery and caramel-like MLF and nuances of nutty lees. Medium-full bodied, the palate is up-front with rich and luscious flavours of sweetly ripe stonefruits and tropical fruits, creamy and honied barrel-ferment and buttery MLF elements. The mouthfeel is soft-textured, near-unctuous with a soft and fine phenolic thread underlining the fruit, with integrated acidity. A rounded core carries the wine to a creamy, nutty and buttery finish with good acid freshness and fine textures. This is a rich and creamy Chardonnay with tropical fruit and buttery flavours. Match with roast pork over the next 4 years. Fruit from the ‘Kokolo’ vineyard at Chateris Bay, fully barrel-fermented to 14.5% alc., the wine aged 13 months in seasoned oak with batonnage and 25% MLF.
17.0/20
4 stars
Raymond Chan Wine Reviews, August 2016
Kokolo Vineyard Chardonnay 2015
This is richly fruited and fragrant on the nose showing yellow stone fruit, mango, mandarin and butterscotch characters. The palate is succulent and beautifully weighted, and offers creamy texture and nutty complexity, leading to a lingering expansive finish. At its best: now to 2019.
91 points
4.5 stars
Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, August 2016
Kokolo Vineyard Chardonnay 2014
I particularly admired the Chardonnay, which I thought stood out for its elegant, pronounced but balanced cool climate acidity; a hallmark of South Island white wines and a quality that I admire and enjoy greatly in these wines.
Overall, I think that your wines show great promise (and arguably more than any that I have yet tasted from grapes grown on the Banks Peninsula). They are clean, fruit forward but interestingly savoury in taste as well as having a strong acid core that provides the backbone and power in them.
Joelle Thomson, December 2015
Kokolo Vineyard Chardonnay 2014
Clones 95, 15 and Mendoza from the ‘Winton’ block of the ‘Kokolo’ vineyard, fully barrel-fermented to 13.5% alc., the wine aged 10 months in seasoned French oak on lees, without batonnage, and 75% MLF. Bright, light golden-yellow colour with some depth, lighter edged. The nose is full with aromas of apricots and yellow stonefruit aromas with harmoniously melded notes of nutty oak, caramel, spices, butterscotch MLF and nuances of savoury honey. Medium-full bodied, the flavours are elegantly presented and softly accessible, showing apricots, stonefruits honey and caramel elements. Nutty oak and butterscotch MLF adds interest, and the flavours build in depth. The mouthfeel is soft, with integrated acidity and a fine, textured line carries the wine to a crisp, fine finish with a little dry grip unfolding savoury caramel and nutty notes. This is a soft, gentle, stonefruited Chardonnay with apricot, caramel and buttery flavours, and a dry finish. Match with Asian poultry dishes over the next 2-3 years.
15.5+/20
Raymond Chan Wine Reviews, November 2015
Kokolo Vineyard Chardonnay 2014
This is beautifully styled and seriously good. Complex aromas of stone fruit, citrus, oatmeal and toasted almond with a touch of flinty complexity on the nose. It is concentrated and expansive on the palate, and shows excellent fruit intensity, backed by juicy acidity. The wine is silky, rounded and persistent, and offers terrific drinking. At its best: now to 2020.
94 points
5 stars
Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, October 2015