Church Road Grand Reserve Chardonnay

Formerly known as Church Road’s Reserve range they’ve given the wines a slick, stealth like black label and slapped the word “Grand” in the name, now known as Church Road Grand Reserve Chardonnay. It sits above the Church Road McDonald Series and below their iconic (and expensive!) Church Road TOM Chardonnay.

So that’s the marketing job done, what about the wine? Are they actually Grand? Are they what! These are sheer world class wines, up there with the best you’ll find in Hawke’s Bay. That’s why you’ll only find Church Road wines under this label released in exceptional vintage. Made from low-cropping vineyard blocks (to ensure more concentrated, ripe flavours), hand-harvested and produced using small batch, traditional techniques. Entirely hand harvested, whole bunch pressed with wild yeast and left to age for 11 months in French oak.

This label has been something of a magnet for the Golds over the years. The 2018 vintage won 7 Trophies and 7 Gold medals, the 2019 was Double Gold and 95/100 by Bob Campbell MW and the 2020 vintage made international headlines taking out an incredible 97 Points & Best In Show Award at the Decanter World Wine Awards in London. That means it was one of the top 50 wines from over 18,000 entered!

This is the latest 2021 vintage of one of our favourite Chardonnays and we’ve been given the heads up it’s a small vintage – ie. there ain’t gonna be enough to supply the usual demand! So our tip, grab some while you can.

A powerful, full-bodied, complex Chardonnay with superb cellaring potential and will make a stunning food match to seafood or white meats in a creamy sauce. Sure to improve over the next five or six years too.