Give me honest winemakers every day of the week. Clive Jones, the Nautilus winemaker for a generation, calls the 2022 Marlborough vintage ‘one of the toughest of the last 30 years’ as La Nina brought seemingly endless vintage rain to sunny Marlborough. An annus horribilis, if you feel like today needs more italicised Latin. This Chardonnay is a bit of an achievement, as it has flavour. Full gold; it’s all butterscotch and custard opulence, with vanilla oak on the nose and palate. With just enough acidity and oak tannins and ripe creamed nectarine as the main flavour of the day, it feels like typical Nautilus Chardonnay, if maybe a bit more winemaking and less fruit this vintage. High five, Clive.

THE VERDICT

• Best drinking: now and easy five years
• Score (out of 20): 17.7
• Score (out of 100): 92
• Alcohol %: 13.5
• RRP (in $AUD): 35
• Winery website: https://www.nautilusestate.com/
• Would I buy it?: worth a few glasses