Man O' War Valhalla Chardonnay 2020 ~ Waiheke Island, New Zealand

95/100 Cam Douglas MS
94/100 The Real Review, Bob Campbell
94/100 James Suckling
93/100 The Real Review, Stephen Wong
93/100 The Real Review, Bob Campbell
95/100 The Real Review, Bob Campbell (2019 vintage)
94/100 Cam Douglas MS (2019 vintage)
95/100 The Real Review, Bob Campbell (2018 vintage)
92/100 James Suckling (2018 vintage)
90/100 Cam Douglas MS (2018 vintage)
17.5/20 Jancis Robinson (2018 vintage)

Ranked #4 of New Zealand Chardonnays - Wine 360
5 Star Rated by Bob Campbell

Cam Douglas MS "A full-bodied, nutty, rich and powerful wine with a core of roasted stone fruit and toasty cashew-nut oak flavours, fine textured tannins and a brazil-nut butter texture. Baked peaches and lemon, nectarine skin and grapefruit. There’s vanilla and nut, warming alcohol and medium+ acidity. A wine that ticks all the boxes of weight and intensity, richness and power, flavour and deliciousness. "

The Real Review, Bob Campbell "Big, rich and creamy chardonnay with layers of tree fruit, citrus fruit, mineral and oak flavours. Complex, satisfying and generously proportioned, with a solid backbone of tangy acid and peppery tannins. An heroic chardonnay with development potential."

James Suckling "A crisp and very lively chardonnay with sliced lemon, green apple and a hint of nougat. Medium-bodied with excellent energy and a minerally finish. Salty."

The Real Review, Stephen Wong "Tight, flinty sulfide/smoke nose, young, closed. Very high-toned citrus and herb notes - in the reductive, mineral style. Concentrated fruit, sulfites dominating at present, will this integrate over time? Very modern style, quite lean. Just lacking the fruit weight and depth to stand up the level of reduction here; still very good, but shy of great"

The Real Review, Bob Campbell "Light, slightly phenolic (in a good way) with grapefruit, sizzled butter, and oyster shell flavours. A bit simple at first but opened up as it sat in the glass."

The Real Review, Bob Campbell "Rich, complex chardonnay with grapefruit, nectarine, green apple, mint and a saline-mineral character.A lively, high-energy wine that promises to age very well indeed." (2019 vintage)

Cam Douglas MS "A rich and captivating bouquet with aromas of vanilla and roasted peach, baked apple and cashew nut, sour cream and burnt butter, nectarine and baking spice. There's no mistaking the power, the oak and the variety. Full-bodied and creamy textured on the palate with stone fruit and grapefruit flavours, vanilla and rw sugar with baking spice and smoke flavours of oak, fine tannins and mediumacidity. This is a big wine, but very well made, quite serious , rich, bold, nutty and ready." (2019 vintage)

Bob Campbell "Rich, weighty, creamy-textured chardonnay with toast, sizzled butter, peach, melon, spice and citrus flavours (among others). A satisfyingly complex and textural wine that demonstrate impressive viticultural and winemaking skills" (2018 vintage)

James Suckling "Sweetly floral and offering a wealth of fresh melon and peaches with orange blossom, too. The palate has a rich, fleshy and quite succulent feel with plenty of flavor, following the peach and lemon vein. Grilled nuts to close." (2018 vintage)

Cam Douglas "There’s no mistaking the power and impact from this wine with aromas of cashew nut and whipped cream, roasted peaches and vanilla, smoky wood and brown baking spices. On the palate - full-bodied with a creamy texture, fruity reflecting the aromas from the bouquet. With the presented level of bottle-development, this wine is ready to enjoy from today and through 2021." (2018 vintage)

Jancis Robinson "...this is proper premier cru stuff, with all the sophistication and minerality (whatever that might be!) of great Chardonnay." (2018 vintage)

The Winemaker "The palate is concentrated with waves of harmonious flavours of ripe citrus, flinty lees characters and nutty, toasty flavours. The acidity is well-matched with the weight and concentration of the wine, rich enough not to be distracted by any malo or heavy lees work."

Raymond Chan "The nose is softly full and voluminous with generous and up-front aromas of ripe yellow stonefruits along with nuances of citrus and tropical fruit melded with well-packed complexing aromas of gunflint reduction, creamy barrel-ferment and nutty oak. This has depth and power. Medium-full bodied, the palate has rich and mouth-filling flavours of ripe yellow stonefruits with hints of citrus and tropical fruit, integrated with a fine, complex amalgam of nutty oak and flinty reduction. There is a suggestion of richness and creaminess from the barrel-ferment, which is balanced by bright, refreshing acidity. The wine carries with power and drives along a fine-textured line, leading to a long and sustained finish. This is a rich, mouth-filling and concentrated, complex Chardonnay with stonefruit, nutty oak and gunflint interest on a powerful palate. Match with poultry, pork and veal dishes over the next 5-6+ years. A selection of the finest barrels. Fruit from the volcanic hillsides WBP, and fruit from the sheltered hillsides foot-stomped, then fully indigenous yeast barrel-fermented with full solids to 14.0% alc., the wine aged 11 months in 36% new French oak puncheons.." (2017 vintage)

Robert Parker The Wine Advocate "Man O’ War is without a doubt one of New Zealand’s greatest wineries in the making and one to watch."

Jancis Robinson “Waiheke Island, home to one of the country’s best Syrah producers Man O’ War…New Zealand is second only to the Rhône in the consistency of quality it achieves.”

Raymond Chan "Man O’ War is arguably Waiheke Island’s most significant wine producer.."

Man O'War Vineyards is a leading New Zealand wine producer on Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf. It is known for its consistently high-quality range of wines made from grape varieties like Chardonnay, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Each small parcel of vines is carefully tended and harvested by hand, then vinified separately, fusing classic Old World techniques with innovative New World ideas.

Waiheke Island is a wine-producing region just 18km east of Auckland city. This hilly island is home to a healthy population of hippies and artists, as well as some of Auckland's most famous vineyards. Waiheke Island's specialty is elegant Bordeaux Blend wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but Syrah and Chardonnay are also important grape varieties planted here.

Chardonnay is one of the world’s most popular grapes, Chardonnay is made in a wide range of styles from lean, to rich, creamy white wines aged in oak. Bolder, richer, full-bodied and buttery Chardonnays are made using oak and are produced in California, Burgundy, and Australia. Unoaked chardonnays such as Chablis and those produced in Chile, New Zealand, and other parts of France are leaner and often crisp and mineraly, with delicate flavors. By law, if a label says “Chablis,” it must be Chardonnay.