Pyramid Valley Lions Tooth Chardonnay, Canterbury

Description

Pyramid Valley Lions Tooth Chardonnay is a white wine produced in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. It is part of Pyramid Valley’s “Botanical Collection” of specific vineyard sites which also includes Angel Flower and Earth Smoke Pinot Noirs and Field of Fire Chardonnay.

Pyramid Valley is one of New Zealand’s great wine estates where altitude, limestone, slope, rock and rich soils meet to produce profound Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The estate was founded by  Mike and Claudia Weersing who had spent 15 years searching the world to find the perfect place to grow grapes. In 2000, they purchased the plot of land near Waikari in North Canterbury. They worked the vineyards for nearly 20 years before selling to  Steve Smith MW (perhaps best known for establishing Craggy Range) and his business partner and wildlife conservationist Brian Sheth. Steve and Brian are building on the work done by the Weersings to fulfil the full potential of the site. In 2018 they purchased a second vineyard in Lowburn, Central Otago called Manata Estate, an established vineyard that has produced exceptional Pinot Noir since 2002.

Their vineyards are managed following the principals of biodynamic viticulture and the winemaking follows natural processes with the use of indigenous yeast, no additives, natural fining and little, if any, filtration. 

The Lions Tooth parcel of vines is planted at the Waikara Estate in North Canterbury. Waikari is a unique site where rich, rocky, limestone and clay derived soils sit on high-altitude north and east facing slopes. The Lions Tooth vineyard has a warm, eastern aspect. 100% Chardonnay grapes are harvested by hand, foot trodden and whole-bunch pressed. The wine is fermented use natural yeasts and aged in French oak. The wine undegoes natural spring malolactic fermentation and is aged for 17 months on lees in barrel. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.

The site is name after the wild dandelions that had taken over the site before the vineyard was planted in 2000.