OLD HOUSE VINEYARDS WIN COLIN HARRISON MEMORIAL TROPHY FOR REGION'S BEST CHARDONNAY

With 24 exceptional chardonnays from the Nelson Tasman region to judge, awarding the Colin Harrison Memorial Trophy to the region’s best chardonnay was a tough job for judges Jane Docherty and Neil Hodgson.

This year, the winning wine went to Old House Vineyards 2018 One Tree Chardonnay. Its lovely intense stone fruit flavours are balanced with the perfect use of new and old oak and some creamy malolactic fermentation. The little extra age on the wine has allowed all the characters of the wine to evolve into a harmonious taste experience.

In second place was the Waimea Estate 2019 Chardonnay. This wine has aromas of fresh lemon/lime and crème brulèe while the flavours are packed with mandarin citrus flavours enhanced by firm oak flavours and malo richness. The wine is seamless in the mouth with nice juicy, ripe acidity in the finish.

Another wine form Old House Vineyards, their 2020 One Tree Chardonnay took out third place, a winery taking out two of the top three places has never happened before in this competition and is a reflection of the dedication to excellence in the vineyard and winemaking. Similar in flavours to the 2018 version the acidity in this wine is a little softer making it perfect drinking right now, it’s a delightfully elegant wine.

With one wine from three different vintages taking out the top three placings this competition shows that without doubt, the Nelson region has the perfect blend of soil types and climate to make it one of New Zealand’s consistently top Chardonnay producing regions.

Read Neil Hodgson’s thoughts on the top three wines in his Stuff column.