Waitaki Valley Chardonnay Through Two Seasons
Updated: 4 days ago
Chardonnay offers a different way to read the Waitaki Valley. Alongside the region’s Pinot Noir and aromatic whites, its small plantings give wines in which freshness, aroma and texture can be considered closely. At Clos Ostler, we look for depth that remains light on its feet, with enough detail to invite another taste.
A white wine from the limestone slope
Our Chardonnay comes from the estate’s north-facing site in North Otago. The limestone ground and the cool Waitaki setting are central to its identity, while the conditions of each season determine the fruit we have to work with. This makes vintage an especially useful starting point when choosing or comparing the wines.
The wider valley contains more than one kind of vineyard ground. New Zealand Winegrowers describes vines on weathered limestone slopes as well as former riverbeds carrying greywacke, schist and limestone gravels. Clos Ostler occupies the former setting. Within the Waitaki, each combination of slope, exposure and soil gives a vineyard its own growing conditions.
Chardonnay occupies only a small part of the valley’s vineyards. At Clos Ostler, northern exposure helps the fruit ripen within the cool season, while the slope gives cold air a path towards lower ground on still nights. The long autumn is especially valuable here, allowing flavour to develop while freshness remains.
Freshness takes a different shape in each of these wines. In the 2024, citrus detail remains evident beside ripe white peach and barrel texture. In the 2025, white flowers and nectarine give a lifted impression around the depth of the palate. These are two expressions of balance, rather than a division between a rich wine and a fresh one.
Two vintages, considered together
The 2024 was the first Chardonnay released from the Clos Ostler monopole, grown from clone 95. The estate’s vintage account records an unusually warm, dry El Niño season, with harvest beginning about ten days ahead of the long-term average. That context gives the ripe white peach and citrus detail a setting in an actual year.
The fruit was whole-bunch pressed, fermented with ambient yeast in French oak and matured in barrel for eleven months, with full malolactic fermentation. White peach, blossom, lime zest and green plum accompany biscuit and a fine barrel texture. Acidity remains part of the finish despite the complete malolactic conversion.
The 2025 gives white flowers and white nectarine particular prominence in our recent estate tasting. Pear, green plum, brioche and toasted almond sit within a wine whose creamy texture remains lively. It was fermented and matured entirely in barrel, with approximately 35 per cent new oak and around half undergoing malolactic fermentation. That partial approach belongs to the decisions made for the 2025 fruit, rather than a fixed formula for future releases.
Malolactic fermentation converts malic acid to lactic acid and changes more than the total acidity. As the Australian Wine Research Institute explains, it can also influence aroma and mouthfeel. A percentage therefore describes a cellar decision without fully predicting the finished wine. The 2024’s citrus freshness after complete conversion is a useful reminder of how much depends on the fruit and the wider course of maturation.
Clos Ostler Chardonnay 2025.
The character that carries between seasons
Candice Chow’s 96-point review of Chardonnay 2025 brings an independent view of that balance. She identifies tension and elegance within a creamy texture, with nectarine, lime and blossom among its aromatic details. Her description meets our own interest in the wine’s floral lift, while remaining a separate assessment of this particular vintage.
The first two releases give Clos Ostler Chardonnay a beginning with genuine variation. Clone 95 and the north-facing limestone slope provide continuity, while the season and cellar choices allow each wine its own expression. Following their development will show how white-fruit perfume, citrus detail and barrel texture change with time, adding a longer view to these early impressions.
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