The 2009 Kidnapper’s Vineyard Chardonnay has a light, slightly herbaceous, smoky bouquet that is very reticent at the moment and even re-tasting six months later it need more tension and delineation. However, the palate is medium-bodied with an attractive apple and lemon zest entry, well balanced with a nice build to the fresh lemon and lime-leaf finish. This is a pretty and “concise” Chardonnay. Drink now-2015. The wines from Craggy Range were tasted both in Hawkes Bay in January 2010 and then in London six months later. Steve Smith, Rod Easthope and the team continue to furnish consumers with a wide portfolio of terroir-based wines that satisfy both the value and prestige end of the market. Having tasted many of their wines, there is no doubt that they have ‘toned down’ their style, the initial releases being rather hubristic and a tad top-heavy with oak. This sense of refinement has lent the wines greater poise and breeding. Their reds are still their strongest suit, in particular their flagship labels such as ‘Le Sol’ and ‘Sophia’, but do not overlook their Chardonnays that exude great purity and Burgundian poise. Meanwhile their ‘Wild Rock’ entry-level range, which is treated as a completely separate entity to Craggy Range, contains some delightful varietals that form a neat introduction to the delights of Hawkes Bay’s wines.Importer: Kobrand Corp., New York, NY; tel. (212) 490-9300.