Cuvée Aux Antipodes Blanc 2023

This Chardonnay is a collaboration between Prophet’s Rock winemaker Paul Pujol and esteemed French winemaker François Millet from Chambolle-Musigny, Burgundy. Former winemaker at Comte George de Vogüé for 35 vintages, François continues to make wine in Burgundy with his family under ‘François Millet et Fils’ and with us in New Zealand.

2022 Vintage, NZ White Wine of the Year, 96pts ★★★★★
After much discussion the panel was unanimous on selecting this outstanding chardonnay as our White Wine of the Year. It shows the consummate skill of a winemaker keen to explore the potential of a great site. A thrilling and exciting wine.

Real Review Awards panel judge, Jane Skilton MW

This wine is the reflect of the Clutha River flowing just below, mineral, transparent and luminous. There is nothing exotic, “artificial” or “made up” about the expression of this wine. That shows again the link between what is emanating from the land, the feeling you have from it and the expression of the wines.

François Millet

Pale straw in colour, the nose on this wine is a very complex combination of lemon citrus and yellow stonefruit, intermingled with mealy, wheat notes and white jasmine florals. The palate opens with more yellow fruits, lemon curd, and roasted wheat, supported by a chalky-textured frame which is given direction and structure by a vibrant spine of acidity running through the wine.

The finish is extremely long, going on for many minutes with lingering pithy stonefruit and further citrus notes. This is a wine that will open-up slowly to reveal even more complexity and will respond well to decanting.

Food matching leans toward shellfish, fish, and chicken dishes, with the freshness and texture of the wine able to balance richer dishes well.

Cellaring: Decant for full expression in its youth and cellar with confidence for 10+ years from vintage.

Since the first release in 2018, this wine has been sourced exclusively from the small 1.8 hectare Chardonnay block on our Kopuwai Delta vineyard, located in the Pisa sub- region of Central Otago. This site has a mix of fine schist glacial and alluvial soil. Meticulous viticulture and the site’s low elevation help to ensure full ripeness and concentration.

A strong focus on viticulture is the foundation of the winemaking approach. Yields are consistently managed to 25-30hl/ha or approximately 3.5-4ton/ha.

All elements of the winemaking are directed by François who has formed a consistent approach, responding to the individual nuances of each vintage on this small parcel since 2018. The handpicked fruit is gently whole-bunch pressed and fermented in barrel using only indigenous ‘wild’ yeast. The wine then spent 19 months in barrel (13% new) and underwent indigenous malolactic fermentation.

Mild finish to winter, stable spring with no frost. Regular rainfall through November, fruit set in December when the weather was warm and dry. January and February were warm and very dry until late February when the weather cooled. March was mild but not hot, with only five days reaching 25°C early in the month. From the middle of March until the end of harvest in April, the weather remained stable allowing us the flexibility to pick on flavour and ripeness. The grapes held good acidity, and the resulting wines have a great balance of freshness along with ripe flavours and good structure.

  • Alcohol 13.0%
  • Only 22 barrels were made.
  • Harvest dates: 23 March 2023
  • Bottling date: 19 June 2025
  • The wine is bottled under Diam cork.
  • Bottle weight 565 g (unfilled).