• French oak
• Peach & grapefruit
• Grilled nuts & butter
• Rich & full

"A bouquet with complexity and intrigue, depth and curiosity. Tense and youthful with flavours of white and yellow tree fruits, a touch of grapefruit, lees, mineral and spice. Excellent texture with a core of fruit surrounded by oak, fine wood tannins and contrasting acidity. Well made, but does need some time to develop more harmonious transitions. Well made and likely best drinking mid to late 2022 through 2026+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, 2021

"Beautifully composed and complex, the wine shows apricot, fig, vanillin oak and subtle flinty notes on the nose, followed by a gorgeously rounded palate offering creamy mouthfeel and elegant oak infusion, making it fabulously drinkable. At its best: now to 2026" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, May 2021

"Instantly appealing, the top value 2020 vintage (4.5*) was harvested at two sites, at Bay View and Maraekakaho, and fermented with indigenous yeasts in French oak barriques. Bright, light lemon/green, it is mouthfilling, with generous, vibrant, citrusy, peachy flavours, biscuity, mealy, slightly smoky notes adding complexity, balanced acidity, and a finely textured, creamy-smooth finish. A very harmonious wine, it should break into full stride 2022+" Michael Cooper

This is a rich and full flavoured Hawkes Bay Chardonnay. Its flavour profile is a mix of peach, grilled nuts, butter, grapefruit with a subtle oak spice. It is both complex and delicious and a classic expression of Hawkes Bay Chardonnay.

The individual vineyard parcels were harvested separately in early March and fermented using wild yeast in French oak barriques. Fifty per cent of the wine was allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation which softened the wine and added further complexity. The wine was left on its lees undergoing regular stirring before being blended and bottled in February 2021.

A blend of two contrasting vineyard sites. Old clone 95 vines in Bay View growing in ex marine soils provide the finished wine with richness and a white peach fruit expression while a block of clone 15 vines planted inland on a cooler river terrace at Maraekakaho provides acidity and a flinty grapefruit note. Low yields and a cool, dry 2020 season allowed us to harvest fruit in excellent condition.