"It is fabulously aromatic on the nose showing white stone fruit, lemon peel, vanilla and cedar characters with hints of brioche and nougat. The palate delivers excellent concentration and weight, beautifully supported by creamy texture and bright acidity, finishing superbly long and expansive. Wonderfully composed and delightfully expressed. At its best: now to 2020" Sam Kim Wine Orbit

"Bright straw-yellow colour with light golden hues, paler edged. This has a soft and harmonious nose, gently voluminous showing aromas of white peach with subtle citrus fruit notes, entwined with hints of nutty and toasty oak and suggestions of flinty lees. Creamy barrel-ferment elements unfold with aeration. Medium-bodied, the palate has well-bound and restrained flavours of white stonefruits and citrus fruits entwined with delicate nutty nuances. The mouthfeel has a subtle richness with fruit sweetness and creamy barrel-ferment textures providing a smooth-flowing line. The phenolic textures are integrated and fresh acidity provides drive and energy, carrying the wine to a light, lingering finish of stonefruits, smoke and nuts. This is an elegant Chardonnay with restrained stonefruit flavours and subtle inputs, showing a gentle richness and a smooth flowing line. Match with seafood and poultry over the next 4 years, Clones Mendoza and 15 from vines 13-20 y.o., over 70% of the fruit from the ‘Te Awanga Estate’ vineyard fermented in barrel with approx.10% in tank, 50% by indigenous yeasts to 13.0% alc., the wine aged 10 months in 15% new French oak barriques on lees with batonnage and 55% MLF." Raymond Chan, April 2017

A classic, generous Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay. An alluring nose of citrus, vanilla and spicy clove leads into a full, rich palate of white peaches, bright acidity and layered toasty oak complexity. Will cellar beautifully for up to five years and with careful cellaring up to ten.

A combination of machine and handpicked, gently pressed and run to a mixture of new and used French oak barriques and stainless steel tanks for fermentation, of which a portion was wild.  The wine rested on lees for ten months where it underwent a partial MLF in spring.  It was gently stirred every couple of weeks for six months before it was blended, lightly fined and bottled in early 2017.

Premium grapes were first grown in Te Awanga at the beginning of last century. The warm coastal climate, gentle sea breezes and the shallow clay soils combine to produce award winning wines of great varietal flavour and finesse.
Autumn 2016 was warm and settled at the end of an advanced growing season. Our Mendoza and clone 15 Chardonnay vines range from 13 to 20 years old with a combination of rootstocks.  The mix of clay, alluvial silts, volcanic ash and gravels make this an interesting and high quality site.  The area is proven to produce grapes of great concentration and finesse.