Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018

Description

• Stylish oak
• Golden peach
• Vanilla & cedar
• Lingering finish

"Bright, even, medium yellow with a golden-green hue. The nose is softly-full and elegant with flavours of melon and stonefruit, along with light cream and a subtle butter tone; entwined with cashew nutes and a dusty layer of oak element. Medium-bodied, dry to taste, with flavours of honeydew melon, stonefruit and citrus, along with cream, cashew and oak spice element. The palate is creamy with a lightness; lively acidity balanced the creaminess and flows gracefuly to a linear finish with a dusting of oak spices on a light and soft phenolic texture. This is a well-rounded Chardonnay with balanced acidity, carries the right proportion flavours of fruit, nut and cream with elegance" Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, Jun 2020

"It’s gorgeously complex and inviting on the nose showing golden peach, vanilla, lemon peel and roasted hazelnut characters. The palate displays excellent weight and intensity, together with creamy texture and bright acidity, making it wonderfully harmonious and flavoursome. At its best: now to 2023" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jul 2020

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

The wine is made with hand harvested grapes from the winemaker's 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.