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Buy any 6 bottles and save 5%. Buy any 12 bottles and save 10% (excludes wines on offer). Free UK delivery on orders over £100. Tel: 02922 337454
Buy any 6 bottles and save 5%. Buy any 12 bottles and save 10% (excludes wines on offer). Free UK delivery on orders over £100. Tel: 02922 337454
2022 Lion's Tooth Chardonnay, Pyramid Valley Wine Republic

2024 Lion's Tooth Chardonnay, Pyramid Valley

North Canterbury, New Zealand

Limestone Radiance

Expansive yet beautifully focused, Lion’s Tooth combines the generosity of fine Chardonnay with a vivid mineral edge. Grilled lemon and mandarin peel lead the way, followed by orange blossom, toasted cashew and a delicate crème brûlée richness. A chalky, crushed-stone character runs beneath the fruit, giving the wine a savoury dimension and keeping its warmer, nutty notes wonderfully poised.

The palate opens with breadth and depth, then gathers around a bright line of citrus acidity. Lemon curd and roasted nuts fill the mouth, while a fine, powdery texture adds shape and a saline finish keeps everything fresh and persistent. There is real substance here, carried with remarkable lightness. An excellent choice for a special dinner or a carefully chosen cellar addition, it promises particularly rewarding drinking from 2027 as its youthful intensity begins to unfold.

For when: The best bottle on the table deserves an equally memorable dinner.

Pairs with: Roast lobster with lemon butter, Dover sole meunière, scallops with cauliflower purée, chicken with morels and cream, crab and leek tart, or mature Comté.

Lion’s Tooth takes its name from the dandelions growing among the vines, echoing the French dent-de-lion. Part of Pyramid Valley’s Botanicals Collection, it comes from an east-facing site at Waikari, where deep clay and limestone soils occupy the middle of the hillside. That small parcel gives the wine its distinctive combination of breadth, mineral texture and precision.

Whats in the bottle
Chardonnay 100%

£86.00 - £86.00
£86.00
£86.00 - £86.00
£86.00
Availability:
In stock

Pyramid Valley was established in 2000 by Mike and Claudia Weersing, whose 15-year search for the right vineyard brought them to Waikari in North Canterbury. Mike’s experience in Burgundy and Claudia’s commitment to biodynamic farming shaped the estate from the beginning. Brian Sheth and Steve Smith MW took ownership in 2017, continuing its focus on distinctive Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The home estate lies among cool limestone hills, with clay and marl soils and differing slopes that give each vineyard block its own character. Closely planted vines and careful attention to individual parcels underpin the Botanicals Collection. Lion’s Tooth and Field of Fire offer two contrasting interpretations of Chardonnay from this small corner of New Zealand.

Winemaker and estate manager Huw Kinch joined in 2018, alongside viticulturist Nick Paulin. Organic and biodynamic practices guide the farming, while native yeasts, gentle handling and patient maturation shape the wines. Their approach allows the character of the fruit and vineyard to remain clear, with texture and balance central to the finished result.

Made from 100% Chardonnay grown at the Waikari estate. The Lion’s Tooth vineyard was originally planted between 2000 and 2002, with a further planting in 2018, and has been farmed biodynamically from inception. The 2024 fruit was picked and sorted by hand.

Whole bunches were crushed and given one to four hours of skin contact before gentle pressing. Unsettled juice went into seasoned barrels for fermentation with indigenous yeasts, followed by full malolactic conversion.

The wine spent 12 months on its lees without sulphur additions, before blending and sulphuring in April 2025. A second winter on light lees in stainless steel allowed natural settling. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered in September 2025 under Diam 10.

Alcohol: 12.5%. Suitable for vegans. Recommended drinking window: 2027–2040.