Tasting Note
An intriguing nose provides aromas of lemon zest, stone fruit, and a toasted smokiness together with a touch of flint. But that’s just the beginning! The palate features intense citrus flavours with a complex array of other characters, including spice and vanilla from the French oak and brioche from extended lees contact. This is a rich, full-flavoured wine that remains beautifully balanced by a fresh acidity. Every sip is an indulgent treat that lingers on the palate, leaving you wanting more.
Aromas and flavours:
Reviews & Accolades
Reviews and accolades for Lawson's Dry Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2023:
Cameron Douglas MS
camdouglasms.com
95/100
Top NZ Wine Selection 2025
Lots to like about the bouquet and palate of this wine - aromas of barrel spice and roasted peaches, grapefruit and roasted brazil-nut butter, a rich leesy quality and power. A full-bodied, spice and nut rich attack framed by ripe stone fruit and pomaceous fruit flavours, smoke, toasty barrel and spice highlights. A lovely new world style and example. Complex and lengthy, best drinking from day of purchase through 2029.
Decanter World Wine Awards 2025
Decanter
Bruised apple and peach aromas to the fore, with brioche and gunflint back notes. A ripe style with lovely concentration.
International Wine Challenge 2025
IWC
Very attractive aromas of buttered toast, ripe tropical fruits and a characterful, mouth-filling palate.
Global Wine Masters 2025
The Drinks Business
SilVer
Marlborough Wine Show 2025
Marlborough Wine Show
SilVer
Additional information
Wine type: White wine from New Zealand
Grape variety: Chardonnay
Food match: Seafood, terrines and pates, risotto, sticky harissa roast chicken, pork and char-grilled foods, roasted vegetables, dishes with creamy or buttery sauces, pumpkin and other root vegetables.
Vineyard: Coastal vineyard situated on the banks of the Wairau Diversion, Marlborough, New Zealand. Sea breezes moderate temperatures, while the silts and river stones produce wines with a distinct minerality. The wine is predominantly from 25-year-old Mendoza vines (88%) and a small portion of a newer clone, 548, planted in 2018.
Winemaking: The grapes are hand-harvested and whole-bunch pressed, and the juice settled briefly before being racked to French oak barrels (22% new). The juice was fermented with wild yeast and allowed to undergo full malolactic fermentation. The wine was racked from barrel and blended prior to being bottled at the winery some ten months later.
Alcohol: 14% vol
Residual sugar: 2.4 g/l
Total acidity: 6.0 g/l
Bottle size: 0.75l
Notice: contains sulphites. Vegan.
Cellaring potential: until 2028
Closure: Screwcap
Nutritional Information
| Nutritional Information per 100 ml |
| Energy |
316 kJ (75 kcal) |
| Fat |
<0.5 g |
| - Saturated |
<0.1 g |
| Carbohydrates |
0 g |
| Protein |
<0.5 g |
| Salt |
<0.01 g |
Ingredients: Grapes, preservative: sulphites; antioxidant: L ascorbic acid; stabilizing agent: yeast mannoproteins.
Produced and bottled by: Lawson's Dry Hills Wines Limited, PO Box 4020, Redwood Village, Blenheim 7242, Neuseeland
Distributor: vinabonus GmbH, Simmedenweg 40, 34134 Kassel, Germany
To all Chardonnay wines
Switzerland
