Whyte Estate Chardonnay 2025

THE CHARDONNAY DEAL WE'VE ALL BEEN LOOKING FOR
PERFECTLY-PITCHED, MEDIUM-FULL BODIED CHARDONNAY BLISS

COMMENDED | Phil Parker

If you like your chardonnay with a bit of weight, plenty of flavour and beautifully judged oak, this is a deal worth getting excited about. From a very strong Marlborough vintage, it's a small-batch chardonnay with all the richness, texture and polish you want from the style, at a price that makes the whole package even more compelling.

The Whyte Estate label was established by Joyce Whyte’s daughter and granddaughter in honour of Joyce and her lifelong dream of having a vineyard and winery of her own. With Theo Giesen, a celebrated winemaker of the Giesen dynasty, entrusted with the winemaking, the family project has become the source of some seriously smart, small-batch Marlborough wine.

Theo brings decades of experience to Whyte Estate, and that experience shows in the balance of this wine. Fermented in a combination of stainless steel tank, French oak hogsheads and large German oak fuders, the wine is then matured for eight months both in tank on lees and in oak. Selected yeasts are used to highlight the natural fruit intensity while building texture and subtle complexity. Partial malolactic fermentation brings further roundness and generosity while retaining the freshness that keeps everything in check.

The 2025 Whyte Estate is beautifully pitched, sitting comfortably in the medium to full-bodied zone, with ripe white peach and nectarine, fresh citrus and gentle toasted spice flowing through a creamy, generously textured palate. The oak is measured and well integrated, giving the wine depth and complexity without getting in the way of the fruit. It’s generous enough for those who like their chardonnay with some weight, but fresh and balanced enough to make a second glass a very easy proposition. GO LONG.