Chardonnay Marlborough’s best hidden secret

Chardonnay Marlborough’s best hidden secret

Jeremy McKenzie saw the potential in Marlborough Chardonnay many years ago, and has been working on perfecting the variety ever since.

He and his team at Isabel Estate picked up two trophies for Chardonnay at the 2023 Marlborough Wine Show, sponsored by QuayConnect. In this ‘Q&A’, he shares some insight into the winner of the Bragato Research Institute Champion Chardonnay, 2020 & Older trophy, the Isabel Estate Marlborough Chardonnay 2020.

He also delves into the key characteristics of the Marlborough sites capable of producing world-class Chardonnay…

Another Chardonnay trophy for Isabel Estate. This is a variety you’ve been making waves with for some years now - what is it that is so special about Isabel Estate Marlborough Chardonnay?

We are indebted to the foresight of the previous owners for the Burgundian like vineyard set up and the clones of Chardonnay planted at Isabel Estate. The vine material is close to 40 years old now, so we have amazing low yielding vines producing outstanding fruit, of which over half is organically farmed. The site is also a lot cooler than people think, which is important for fruit preservation, juice quality and what we can do with the fruit as winemakers.

Was there anything in particular about the 2020 vintage that made it stand out? The 2020 vintage was super strong and can be remembered for its lack of rain between December and April, with only 43mm. We had good berry set but small, concentrated berries with lovely clean fruit, exceptional quality and ripe acidity. It allowed us to continue our modern style with the hallmark subtle flint, lemon curd, white nectarine notes.  

The picking decisions were key, as we were conscious of wanting to deliver the mineral driven palate and linear acidity integration. What you can see is also the ageability of these wines – they still look fresh and fantastic with age, which is a hallmark to quality and important for the Marlborough region, particularly with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

In a region known for its Sauvignon Blanc, did you foresee the success you might have with Chardonnay or was it more of a ‘give it a try and see what happens’ situation?

I have always been proud of Marlborough Chardonnay, and for me it is the best hidden secret! A lot of the success and style development started with my time winemaking at Villa Maria, producing single vineyard wines of provenance under the Taylor Pass and Waldron Vineyards, which were fantastic for Chardonnay.

I carried this ethos on to Isabel Estate in 2014, which has since inception, nearly 40 years now, been synonymous with top Chardonnay. We have literature from the founder of Cloudy Bay, David Honen, who was instrumental in the history of our region, saying that Marlborough, and in particular Isabel Estate, had the ability to produce world class Chardonnay.

From that amazing brand, you look at icon winemakers and viticulturists like James Healy, Ivan Sutherland and Kevin Judd who, like Isabel Estate, definitely sing Chardonnay’s praises with their own brands, which helps the Marlborough Chardonnay story. I have continued to evolve the Isabel Estate style to where we are today and look back fondly on time in Burgundy in the early 2000s and tasting widely to ensure we keep the focus

What is it about Marlborough that makes it a great place to produce Chardonnay?

 Not every sub region in Marlborough is great for Chardonnay, or the style that seems to be on point and ‘worldly accepted’ as top Chardonnay at present. For me, the best sites are the cooler pockets of the Brancott Valley, Omaka Valley and Fareham Lane which as the crow flies Isabel Estate sits in the middle of. There is also a nice pocket in the upper Rapaura area which makes classy Chardonnay. 

 There are like-minded producers doing some great stuff with chardonnay from these sites - Novum, Cloudy Bay, Blank Canvas, Mahi, Dog Point, Greywacke to name a few. The luxury of these sites is the clonal material, vine age, soil type and coolness of the site, which work together to establish the building blocks for the winemaker to put their touch on.