Meadowbank’s Chardonnay yields were down considerably in 2023, yet quality and concentration were through the roof—so much so that Peter Dredge puts this year’s release up there with the very best he’s made. This comes off the property’s oldest vines, which are P58 clone and well into their 30s. Peter Dredge describes the vineyard as a “beautiful little spot” with loose sand and sandstone overlaying dark brown coffee rock rich in iron oxides. The fruit was picked over two passes at slightly different ripeness levels, ensuring sufficient acidity to balance the ripe-leaning nature of the clone. The fruit was pressed as whole bunches to French puncheons for fermentation. This year, Pete upped the percentage of new wood (20%) to balance the density of the fruit from this low-yielding year.
In the classical Meadowbank mould, it’s focused and chiselled with a rocky palate layered with citrus, white flowers and crunchy stone fruits, all pulled taut by that mouth-watering, cool-climate acidity. Dredge’s superb winemaking has drawn out a cracker this year, right down the tapered, pulpy finish teeming with slaty drive, Va va voom.