Crossroads Winemakers Collection Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2014

Description

A complex Chardonnay with citrus blossom, nectarine and toasty oak characters on the nose. The palate is rich and creamy, with flavours of melon, lemon and peach leading to a long fresh finish.  

Excellent food match with Southern fried chicken with butter chips and a fresh garden salad.

2014 was another great season in Hawke’s Bay, a combination of dry weather, warm days and cool nights gave ideal ripening conditions for all varieties. This single vineyard wine was sourced from the sunny free draining terraces of our inland Kereru Road vineyard at Mangatahi. We have identified some special rows of Mendoza clone Chardonnay on terrace two which consistently give small intensely flavoured berries. This year we also used a small portion of Clone 95 from terrace one which gives a lovely textural element to the wine. The vines are trained to VSP and underwent intensive canopy management and fruit thinning to deliver ripe fruit.

The fruit was hand harvested and pressed directly into barrels where fermentation occurred, using a mixture of indigenous and inoculated yeasts. The wine remained in barrel on lees with regular stirring throughout winter. After 10 months aging, we assembled the blend and prepared for bottling.