Matawhero Church House Chenin Blanc 2022

Established in 1968 by Bill Irwin, Matawhero gained prominence for introducing innovative viticultural practices and unconventional grape varieties to New Zealand. His son, Denis Irwin, continued this legacy, imparting his own colourful style and winning fame for his Gewurztraminer and Chardonnays. He passed on the baton to Richard and Kirsten Searle, who acquired the winery in 2008, They are the trusted Kaitiaki (guardians) of Matawhero and continue to develop the iconic winery and share the distinctive wine styles of the Tairawhiti-Gisborne region.

They continue to produce an ‘Irwin Chardonnay’ honouring the founders, with a limited release, barrel fermented Chardonnay,. They also produce ‘Single Vineyard’ series which showcases the unique characteristics of specific vineyard blocks, and a ‘Church House’ series, which pays homage to the original winery established in a former church.

The grapes were hand-picked in the early morning at Peter Briant's vineyard in the Patutahi region, situated just across the river from Matawhero. The fruit underwent swift crushing and gentle pressing, and the juice was then cold-settled for 36 hours to clarify. Selected yeast strains were used during fermentation to enhance varietal expression and complexity, and temperatures were controlled to preserve the fresh fruit characteristics of the wine. After fermentation, the wine is traditionally fined and filtered to ensure clarity and stability before bottling.