TN: 2018 Craggy Range 'Kidnappers Vyd' Chardonnay [Hawkes Bay]


2018 Craggy Range ‘Kidnappers Vyd’ Chardonnay [Hawkes Bay] 12.5% abv, light bodied to my palate. Lots of acidic edge, that doesn’t blur after 3 days opened. This is a single vineyard wine, mostly hand harvested that gets whole cluster fermented and matured in a mix of metal, fourdres, and wood. It might even get partial malo, along with elevage on the lees. The importers website makes it seem like they do a bit of everything, and interestingly, they even disclose that they fine & filter. From my perspective it seems to be a correct, technically well made wine, that would appeal to anyone wanting a change of pace from chubby / vanilla NorCal chardonnay. Between the palate and nose, I get notes of limes, stones, and a saltiness even. I didn’t think I would like this zingy blanc as much as I did, but I did … and went back and bought the next vintage 2019 after tasting this. This is under a screwcap closure - which I love - and I did not experience/observe any off notes. At some point back in 2010 there was concern about reductive issues* in the wines. From my perspective, consumers can deal with that with aeration/decanting etc. but TCA taint is hard to remove - even with the iffy saran wrap trick - so I’d rather have screwcap closure. I think this is a nice zippy chard; it might appeal to those who can’t find value in white Burgundy and I didn’t smell any sulfide (rotten egg or even sweetish) notes. B+ in my ledger and bought another vintage after tasting…

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Over three days the 2019 Craggy Range ‘Kidnappers Vyd’ Chardonnay [Hawkes Bay] is an enjoyable, lighter bodied, lemony/crisp/zingy blanc that is ideal for a hot day, when one doesn’t have a corkscrew. My notes from the prior vintage seem similar, but I think I would give a slight edge for my tastes/memory to 2018. I have another bottle, which might see poolside quaffing duty this summer, or be saved to trick a Francophile if served blind. To me, it tastes like an Old World wine, and I’ll slot this into the same B+ grade as before.

This is truly a seaside vineyard. If you see where these vineyards in Cape Kidnappers are planted relative to the ocean, some of them literally are constantly coated in sea spray. For the very fair tarriff, these are great balanced terroir driven wines.

Maybe that’s where the saline notes sneak in from.