Elston Chardonnay: The White Queen of Te Mata Estate

Elston is a historic New Zealand Chardonnay from Te Mata Estate’s oldest continuously producing Chardonnay vineyard, first planted in 1892 on the limestone and sandstone slopes of Te Mata Peak in Hawke’s Bay.

Recognised by James Suckling as the number one Chardonnay in the world for value, and the fourth wine overall in the world for value, Elston represents the unique combination of place, heritage and craftsmanship that defines Te Mata Estate.

More than 130 years after the first Chardonnay vines were planted, Elston continues to express the character of its landscape: intense Hawke’s Bay sunlight, cooling maritime breezes, ancient marine soils and careful vineyard stewardship.

 

The oldest continuously producing Chardonnay vineyard in New Zealand

Elston Chardonnay comes primarily from Te Mata Estate’s historic Chardonnay vineyards in the Havelock Hills, surrounding Te Mata Peak.

First planted in 1892, these vineyards represent New Zealand’s oldest continuously producing Chardonnay vineyard. For more than a century, Chardonnay has been cultivated in this landscape and crafted in the same historic Te Mata winery cellars.

The connection between vineyard, place and winery is central to Elston’s identity. It is a wine shaped not only by a grape variety, but by generations of observation, farming and winemaking.

 

Why is Elston Chardonnay called Elston?

Elston Chardonnay takes its name from Elston Hall in Nottinghamshire, England, where members of the Chambers family, who played a foundational role in Te Mata Estate’s history, were educated as children.

Elston Hall was also the ancestral home of the Darwin family. For the Chambers family, the name carried memories of education, curiosity and learning before their journey first to Australia and later to New Zealand, where they established Te Mata Estate.

The name Elston reflects values that remain central to Te Mata today: knowledge, cultivation, exploration and a long-term relationship with the land.

 

The White Queen of Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay

Elston Chardonnay is sometimes known as “The White Queen”, a reference to the wine’s characteristic white-fleshed stone fruit flavours: white peach, nectarine and citrus.

Hawke’s Bay’s combination of abundant sunshine and cool maritime influence creates ideal conditions for Chardonnay. The region allows grapes to achieve concentration and ripeness while maintaining freshness, acidity and aromatic lift.

Te Mata’s Chardonnay vineyards sit within approximately five kilometres of the Pacific Ocean, on elevated north-facing slopes that capture cooling sea breezes.

This combination creates a distinctive style of Chardonnay:

• Ripe but not heavy
• Textural but not broad
• Mineral but not austere
• Powerful yet elegant

The geology behind Elston Chardonnay

The character of Elston begins beneath the vines.

Te Mata Peak is one of Hawke’s Bay’s most remarkable geological formations: a tectonically uplifted seabed formed from compressed marine sediments, shells and limestone.

Ancient marine fossils can still be found within these soils, including oyster shells from the seabed that existed millions of years before the first vines were planted.

In exposed areas of the vineyard, the limestone and silica-rich rock is so dense that striking it with a shovel produces a bell-like ring.

The vineyard soils contain a rare combination of:

• Sandy loam topsoil, which provides drainage and supports healthy vine growth
• Sandstone and clay subsoil, combining drainage with water retention and mid-palate generosity
• Limestone and silica-rich layers, creating restriction, mineral intensity and structure

The vines cannot simply drive deep roots downward. Instead, roots spread through cracks and fissures in the rock, naturally restricting vigour and encouraging smaller, more concentrated berries.

 

The influence of Chardonnay clones

Elston Chardonnay is made from a combination of carefully selected Chardonnay clones, including:

• Mendoza (Wente) clone
• McRae clone
• Burgundy Meursault clone

The combination of these clones, Hawke’s Bay sunlight and the mineral soils of Te Mata Peak contributes to Elston’s distinctive character.

The intensity of sunlight encourages thicker grape skins, creating phenolic texture and flavours often described as:

• White nectarine skin
• Grapefruit pith
• Citrus peel
• Mineral freshness

These qualities are balanced by cool nights and ocean breezes, which preserve acidity and create freshness, length and precision.

A vineyard shaped by restraint

Elston Chardonnay comes from carefully managed vineyards that are naturally low yielding, typically producing around 4–6 tonnes per hectare.

The grapes are entirely hand harvested to preserve quality and protect the delicate balance between concentration and freshness.

The long Hawke’s Bay growing season allows flavours to develop gradually without excessive sugar accumulation. The region’s reliable dry conditions, created partly by its rain-shadow position, allow grapes to ripen slowly and evenly.

The character of Elston Chardonnay in the glass

Elston Chardonnay is recognised for its combination of richness, elegance and persistence.

Typical characteristics include:

• White peach and nectarine
• Citrus zest and grapefruit
• Crème brûlée richness
• Hazelnut and subtle vanilla
• Saline mineral notes
• Fine acidity and long persistence

The defining quality of Elston is its internal tension: the ability to combine generosity with freshness.

It offers the richness expected from Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay while retaining the line, precision and longevity associated with great vineyard sites.

A Chardonnay recognised around the world

Elston Chardonnay has earned international recognition throughout its history.

Te Mata Chardonnay has been served at significant occasions including:

• The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
• The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee celebrations
• The inauguration of President Barack Obama

The wine has also appeared in popular culture, including a reference in a Rosalind Boone novel.

These moments reflect Elston’s place as both a distinctive expression of New Zealand and a Chardonnay recognised internationally.

A wine of place, history and longevity

For more than 130 years, the Chardonnay vineyards of Te Mata Estate have been shaped by the same essential forces: ancient seabed soils, Hawke’s Bay sunlight, cooling ocean breezes and careful human stewardship.

Elston is not defined by one element alone. Its identity comes from the interaction of geology, climate, vineyard age, grape variety and generations of winemaking knowledge.

Elston Chardonnay captures the character of Te Mata Estate: elegant, expressive and enduring.

A wine with the richness of Hawke’s Bay, the precision of its soils and the history of a place that has been cultivating excellence since 1892.