The ‘EBM’ in the 2008 Cairnmuir Terraces EBM Chardonnay’s name stands for ‘extended barrel maturation’. As it suggests, it gets racked after 12 months and gets an extra 6 months in seasoned oak. Apart from that, it is made in a similar manner to the straight Chardonnay and is also Mendoza clone fruit. Revealing intense peach and pineapple aromas with a slightly creamier/toastier character, there’s a pleasant oatmeal and butter undercurrent. Medium-crisp in the mouth with a medium-full body, it has a pleasant creamy/silkiness caressing the middle palate and the finish is long. Drink it now to 2015. In the heart of Central Otago’s Bannockburn, Steve Green’s vineyards at Carrick may be teenagers, but are already beginning to provide a peek at just what they can produce. There are 22 hectare’s devoted to vines with the plantings taking place in 1994, 1996 and 1997. Jane Docherty has been the winemaker since 2008, taking over from Steve Davies.Owner Steve Green was in the process of negotiating with a new USA importer when I met with him.