Spoke Amped Chardonnay 2022
Noticeably dry, despite its obvious richness and complexity with the aromatic profile of the nose following through. The wine is pinned together by minerality and phenolic texture rather than acidity as such and is delicious for it. Bruised green apple, stone fruit and almond dominate the nose with a hint of white flowers and honey.
From the Wilde vineyard in Marlborough benefitting from a maritime cool position on silt loam and clay. Vines are low yielding, trained on VSP 2 canes.
Whole bunches go directly to clay amphora for a wild yeast fermentation, then transferred to old oak vessels for 6 months ageing.
| RRP | £25.25 |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Alcoholic strength | 13% |
| Awards | Decanter, 93pts, 2024; Jancis Robinson, 17pts, 2024 |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | South Island |
| Subregion | Marlborough |
| Grapes | Chardonnay 100% |
| Residual sugar (g/l) | 1.6 |
| Dry/Sweet value | 1 |
| Contains sulphites | Yes |
| Vegetarian | Yes |
| Vegan | Yes |
| Milk | No |
| Eggs | No |
| Organic | Yes |
| Biodynamic | No |
| Closure | Cork |
The Dillon’s Point subregion of Marlborough in New Zealand is home to the Glover family and their wines. After four generations of dairy farmers lived and worked on this bit of land, Owen and Wendy Glover decided to give grapes a go and pioneered vine plantings in the subregion in the 1980’s. 19 years on the estate is run by winemaker, and something of a local legend, Ben Glover. Ben is a winemaker well worth following. Since launching his career in 1995, Ben has worked at several top New Zealand estates, including Wither Hills, and was an inaugural 2001 Len Evans scholar. He has spent years honing his considerable skills, all the while working as a highly respected judge at national and international competitions. Today Ben continues to be innovative and questioning, as illustrated by his collaboration with Liam Steevenson MW as part of the ethically and environmentally excellent SPOKE project. The wines of the estate reflect Ben’s trademark expressively elegant yet characterful style in aromatic wines of, as he describes it, ‘power and place that tread lightly on your palate’. As part of that the estate achieved organic certification in time for the 2020 vintage.
