"Wonderfully expressive and immediately appealing, the fabulous bouquet shows ripe stone fruit, mango, cedar and vanilla characters with a hint of brioche complexity. The palate is concentrated and beautifully rounded, and displays excellent fruit purity backed by stylish oak infusion. The wine offers gorgeous complexity and creamy mouthfeel" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Oct 2017

"Taut, edgy Chablis-like chardonnay with green apple, mineral, struck flint, citrus and subtle oak flavours. Crisp acidity adds energy. A good food wine - great with oysters!" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Mar 2018

"Bright, pale straw-yellow colour with slight green hues, lighter on the edge. The nose is elegantly proportioned and fine in expression with good depth and taut intensity of white and yellow stonefruits and citrus fruit entwined with subtle creamy barrel-ferment and nutty oak aromas with nuances of flint. The componentry is harmoniously bound and the nose retains good freshness. Medium-full bodied, the palate has a finely presented, well-concentrated core of white and yellow stonefruits, citrus fruit and mealy notes, along with subtle creamy barrel-ferment and nutty elements unfolding a little flinty detail. The fruit intensity and richness is balanced by fresh acidity and the wine flows along a very fine, textural-threaded line, leading to a refreshing finish. This is an elegant but concentrated Chardonnay with intense and complex flavours of stonefruit and citrus fruit with meal, and nutty layers with flint suggestions, and a fresh palate. Serve with grilled nd roasted seafood, poultry and pork dishes over the next 4-5 years. Hand-picked fruit from the estate Te Awanga vineyard, WBP and fully indigenous yeast barrel-fermented to 13.7% alc., the wine aged 11 months on lees in 25% new oak barriques with no MLF" Raymond Chan, Oct 2017

This wine is a balanced, well-structured Chardonnay showing great fruit concentration with lovely texture and a lingering finish.

Over the crucial summer months, Elephant Hill's Hawke’s Bay vineyards had some long dry days and relatively low humidity followed by perfect Autumn weather. This allowed early ripening varieties such as Chardonnay to display wonderful fruit purity and elegance.

The wine is made with hand harvested grapes from the winemakers coastal Te Awanga vineyard. The bunches were whole-bunch pressed to 228L oak barriques, 25% new. It is a wild yeast fermented Chardonnay which purposely did not go through malolactic fermentation and remained in barrel, on lees, for 11 months.

Established in 2003, Elephant Hill located within a stone’s throw of the Pacific Ocean on the idyllic Te Awanga coast of Hawke’s Bay on New Zealand’s North Island. The winemaking at Elephant Hill is driven by tradition while not losing sight of what innovation can bring to the blend. Their aim is to make wines that are balanced, elegant and a true expression of the vineyards they come from.