2024 Te Mata Elston Chardonnay

97 POINTS

James Suckling

Focused and textured, showing sliced apples and lemons with hints of dried pears and crushed stones on the nose. Full-bodied with chewy phenolics that add to the salty, subtle fruit. Limes at the end. Structured and impressive, this is a beautiful follow-up after the terrific 2023. A powerful and rather muscular chardonnay that highlights the quality of the fruit. 100% barrel-fermented and aged 11 months.

96 POINTS

Emma Jenkins MW - Decanter

First made in 1984, Elston has long been regarded as one of New Zealand’s finest Chardonnays. From the oldest vines in the Havelock Hills, fragrant with grapefruit, stonefruit, light sizzled butter, nougat, and oak spice. The palate traces a fine line of savoury fruit, very compact and subtle, delicately textured with good intensity, quite saline/mineral, subtle yet very persistent. No hurry here at all. Aged in 33% new oak, for 11 months.

95 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2024 Elston Chardonnay leads with gentle toastiness, which frames notes of yellow peach, flint and preserved lemon. The fruit was handpicked and whole-bunch pressed, with clones Mendoza, 548 and 95 contributing layers of flavor and textural complexity. Press fractions between 450 and 500 liters were isolated separately, preserving detail and site nuance throughout élevage. The palate is rich and creamy yet balanced by juicy, saline acidity that brings freshness and shape to the wine. Primary fermentation was inoculated, while approximately 75% of the wine underwent wild malolactic fermentation. Maturation extended over 11 months in barrel, with a deliberate move toward less new oak, utilizing lighter toast profiles and reduced char influence. The oak handling feels increasingly refined: subtle threads of French vanilla and spice weave through the plush fruit profile without obscuring it. This is a generous yet composed wine—it is soft and expansive through the middle palate but carried long by bright acidity and a fine mineral line. This is very good.

94 POINTS

Gary Walsh - The Wine Front

Not released as yet. I’ll fill ion the details when winemaker Phil Brodie arrives. OK, Phil says. “A very good vintage, tiny berries, low yields, dry and warm.” Also says the Coleraine from 2024 is looking really good. Peach, citrus, aniseed, some toasty hazelnut spicy oak, almond meal. It’s a luxurious affair with ample fruit, oak in support, a savoury element, oatmeal, a bright cut of citrus acidity through a creamy nutty gloss. Finish has some lemon zest and excellent length with a little twerk of grainy grip to close. Very good.

90 POINTS

Rebecca Gibb MW - Vinous

Green-gold in the glass, the 2024 Chardonnay Elston unfolds nougat, vanilla custard and pineapple sorbet on the nose. Ripe and creamy with a silken texture, this has a vivid line of citric acidity that provides focus and tension, thanks to a portion of the blend that did not undergo malolactic conversion. The 2024 finishes with medium-plus length, but if I'm nitpicking, there's a bit of warmth from its 14% alcohol. Youthful and primary, this will settle further with a little more time in bottle.