Chris Scott The Stone Giants Bridge Pa Triangle Chardonnay 2024

Description

Peach, Smoke, Spice

"Weighty, with deep, ripe stonefruit flavours enlivened with fresh acidity, it is notably concentrated, with savoury, slightly toasty notes adding complexity" Michael Cooper

"Oozing energy, it dances through the palate, slowly revealing an underlying density and weight" David Walker-Bell, WineFolio

"A tightly flinty nose with delicate aromas of white flowers leads to an explosive mouthful with concentrated flavours of crunchy peach, white nectarine, apple blossom and lime leaf. The expressive flavours are very tangy but also quite upfront, giving way to pithy phenolics on the finish. The balance between freshness, crisp flavours and tangy acidity here is very modern with its triumvurate of salt, smoke and flint. The finish is currently abbreviated by a note of reduction but this will resolve in the next year or two. Enjoy this over the mid-term as it gains in weight and breadth" Stephen Wong, Master of Wine, The Real Review, Mar 2026

A particularly intriguing Chardonnay, quite unlike any other I have made. Exceptionally complex, yet not in a showy way, it has a structure that epitomises the notion of restrained power. A concentration and presence that is drawn out, linear and lithe rather than broad shouldered and heavy set. The fruit profile includes subtle white peach, clementine, cashew and a hint of orange blossom laced with subtle struck match / gunsmoke, roasted nut, shortbread and spice including clove, nutmeg and mace, there is a mineral element to the aromatics too, suggestive of petrichor / hot stone and iron. On the palate, the wine is full but bone dry and very tightly focused, driven by an excellent acid line, grainy stone like texture and a savoury, saline finish that makes it an exceptionally good food wine.

Hawke’s Bay’s western ranges and the volcanic peaks of the Central Plateau are integral to the character of the inland vineyards of Hawke’s Bay. They not only provide shelter from the prevailing westerly weather, but over millennia have also been the source of deep gravel beds, windblown loess and volcanic ash that make up these exceptional viticultural soils. Mountains were often personified as giants in legend, and in naming this wine we imagined a tale of Titans in a violent struggle, raining rock and ash into the plains and valleys below. A past of tectonic upheaval, fractured rock and and fiery volcanos, belied by the quiet pastoral landscapes of today.

Grown on a small block in the Bridge Pa Triangle, in the south west corner of the Heretaunga Plains, this low altitude, inland area is well sheltered from the cooling afternoon sea breeze making this the warmest of the three sub regions we source from. Soils here are low fertility, free draining deep alluvial greywacke gravels, overlaid by a shallow topsoil of windblown loess and iron rich volcanic ash. The combination of climate and soil delivers wines of underlying power and complexity that still maintain a freshness of structure, and underlying hot riverstone / ferrous minerality. Making Chardonnay in this sub region is a relatively new exploration for me, but we’re exceptionally chuffed with what we have achieved so far. The wines are distinctively different, yet in no way inferior to those grown in the Tukituki Valley and Havelock.

2024 was an exceptional Chardonnay vintage in Hawke’s Bay, with warm sunny weather and regular summer rainfall events, the vines went into an extremely dry harvest season with healthy green canopies and good overall balance. Crops were naturally very low and this has translated to a natural underlying power in the wines. The warm growing season led to one of the earliest ever Chardonnay harvest in Hawke’s Bay and fruit was picked in pristine condition with vibrant flavours and fresh natural acidity.