2016 Mt. Beautiful Chardonnay North Canterbury New Zealand 750 ml

New Zealand’s Other Marquee White

Last spring, we got a call from a friend who was back in the Northern Hemisphere after working “Sauvalanche,” the locals’ affectionate nickname for New Zealand’s Sauvignon Blanc-dominated grape harvest. We met him for tuna tartare in downtown Napa, where he insisted on blind tasting us on a bottle he had brought back. Of course, we expected a bomb of grassy, grapefruity, and tropical Kiwi Sauv Blanc to hit our nose. Instead, we got… was it… White Burgundy?

We opened our eyes to our friend’s mischievous smile and a bottle of the 2016 Mt. Beautiful Chardonnay, from the rising region of North Canterbury on New Zealand’s south island. Eminent critic Jancis Robinson has credited North Canterbury with producing “unusually well-structured Chardonnays,” and it was easy to see why: The 2016 Mt. Beautiful shows ripe quince, apple, toast, along with a Burgundian cut and flinty definition. Perfect for Chardonnay lovers who would do anything for the flinty complexity of white Burgundy at a weeknight price.

New Zealand-based Master Sommelier Cameron Douglas is one of the most credible sources in the world when it comes to the wines of North Canterbury. He is a massive fan of Mt. Beautiful, and praised the 2016 Chardonnay to the tune of 95 points, praising its “gentle creamy textures,” its telltale North Canterbury “core of silty minerality followed by aromas of cashew and mild toasty oak,” and calling it “youthful and vibrant, a wine that will age for some time.”

The Mt. Beautiful winery is located close to the sea and sheltered from ocean winds by its namesake mountain, was founded by New Zealand native and UC Berkeley Economics professor David Teese, one of the most influential business intellectuals in the world. At first, Teese was skeptical about the hardscrabble property on the east coast of the country’s south island. The area was so remote that the closest weather station, which was miles away, gave an inaccurate picture of the property’s climate. A closer look at weather patterns revealed an impressively diverse place for grape-growing: Not only did the property encompass dozens of microclimates, but 23 different soil types. With that, Teese was convinced.  

The map of the Mt. Beautiful shows 200 acres of vines growing five different varieties. Only 15 are dedicated to Chardonnay, which is ensconced at the north end of the property. The two blocks are hand-tended and hand-harvested, and after the whole bunches are gently pressed, the juice is fermented in new and used oak puncheons, then aged on the lees for nine months. The result is a Chardonnay of beautiful balance: Burgundian flintiness, New World breadth, and a weeknight price. Don’t miss out.