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The KBS Vineyard is named after our founder (Kenneth) Brian Stonier. The vineyard was planted in front of the winery in 1988 on a steep red volcanic east facing slope. The vineyard represented the thinking of the time, with a V shaped lyre trellis system, which was used on cold sites to open up the canopy.
The Wine Front
Stonier KBS Vineyard Chardonnay 2024
KBS Chardonnay is the longest-standing single vineyard wine in the Stonier range. Made since 2005.
This wine tastes as though it’s grown in a seaside region. I mean that in the most positive of ways. There’s a power of fruit here, along with whispers of hay, cedar and woodsmoke, but the air it exudes has a salty edge, or certainly a savouriness. As with all the Stonier wines from 2024 this wine feels exquisitely pure, its mouthwatering flavours rushing through the palate like a bobsled on ice. But with this wine there’s also a bloom to the fruit. It’s not opulent but it’s textural, generous and interesting. The final sentence in my notebook simply read: “fabulous”. We’re off to the races here.
96 Points, Campbell Mattinson
