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Dog Point Vineyard

Chardonnay 2022

Marlborough

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James Healy and Ivan Sutherland will tell you that it’s hard for them to grow much Chardonnay at the extremely high quality level they want for this wine. As with their Section 94 and Pinot Noir, the wine is distinctive due to extraordinary vineyard holdings, intense vineyard management geared towards low yields and hand-picked fruit, and long, low touch winemaking. The effect this work has on the Chardonnay, by nature the least expressive of these three grape varieties, is wild – the wine is intensely expressive, with loads of fruit, leesy character, and chalky minerality that is almost textural. As with all the wines they produce, it is considered a national standard bearer of a different shade.

VINEYARD

Dog Point has Chardonnay planted in part on clay and silty valley floor vineyards, and in part on surrounding clay loam vineyards. Two clones predominate, 75% Mendoza and 25% Clone 95, with some plantings dating back to 1981. Grapes are, as always, hand-picked (95% of New Zealand’s vineyards are machine harvested).

WINEMAKING

Hand picked and gently pressed straight to barrel (10% new) for eighteen months. No juice clarification with 100% wild primary and secondary fermentation. Bottled without fining and with only minimal filtration.

VINTAGE

The 2022 Marlborough season began with a cool, wet spring that delayed budburst and reduced early yields. A warm, dry summer followed, delivering exceptional ripening conditions and preserving vibrant natural acidity. The long hang time intensified aromatics and flavor concentration, while cool nights retained precision and freshness. The resulting wines balance generous tropical and citrus fruit with the hallmark Marlborough purity and finely etched structure.

TASTING NOTE

A ripe citrus spectrum of fruit is at the core of a complex chardonnay with spice, toasted nuts and gravelly, flint aromas. A pure and focused palate with a bright, crunchy structure and fine acidity.

Color

White

Blend %

100% Chardonnay

Appellation

Marlborough

Certifications

ORGANIC,SUSTAINABLE

Alcohol

13%

Suggested Retail Price

$45

Reviews

95

Decanter - March 4, 2025 "Richly aromatic with notes of lemon meringue, grapefruit, white peach, oatmeal, sizzled butter, hazelnuts and a pretty lift of white flowers. While flinty reduction is a key aspect of Dog Point’s house style (albeit more dialed back than in earlier years), it’s the silken, assured palate with its rich fruit, fine acidity, concentration and balance that seduces."

94

Wine Advocate - June 5, 2025 "The 2022 Chardonnay leads with chamomile and yellow fruits, candlewax and forest floor. This is quite a beguiling wine to smell; it leads me down a path of white miso, white pepper and caper brine. This is an excellent wine, and having enjoyed (a few) glasses of the 2015 Chardonnay last night, it is clear the wine ages gracefully and with ease. This will be excellent now or over the next decade or two. Your call."

94

James Suckling - December 1, 2024 "Very beautiful with sliced cooked apples, pie crust, dried Meyer lemons and lemon curd. Hints of flint. Full-bodied and layered, thishas pretty phenolic tension and a flavorful, tangy finish. A complete and balanced Chardonnay."

Trade Materials

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Dog Point Vineyard Chardonnay

Dog Point Vineyard Chardonnay 2022 Label

Dog Point Vineyard Chardonnay Bottle Shot

Other Wines by this Producer

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Sauvignon Blanc

Dog Point’s Sauvignon Blanc takes a category of wine and completely transcends it, with an intensity, depth and energy that so obviously sets it apart from the first encounter. When they decided to make a pure stainless steel vinified Sauvignon Blanc, Dog Point pushed to the ultimate every process to produce top quality, distinctive wine. They hand-pick fruit at low yields, green harvest at times, and ferment partially with indigenous yeasts. This wine helped make Dog Point a key advocate of premium wine production in New Zealand, and for New Zealand across the world.

Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc

Section 94 is widely regarded as the most distinctive and greatest Sauvignon Blanc being made in New Zealand today. James Healy and Ivan Sutherland were among the first to begin fermenting their Sauvignon in barrel with wild yeasts, a technique that along with the old vines they use, leads to a full-bodied wine that is less fruit-forward, more exotic, and has immense textural complexity.

Pinot Noir

Dog Point's renown as a Sauvignon Blanc producers has done nothing to lessen the enthusiasm around their Pinot Noir, today considered one of the finest in New Zealand. What sets their wine apart is the generosity of the structure, which comes off as rich but not sweet, and the complex mingling of fruit and savory notes.