Mills Reef Reserve Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2021

Description

• French oak
• Peach & nectarine
• Ginger & butterscotch
• Creamy & full-bodied

This excellent Chardonnay is highly appealing, with pronounced nectarine, peach, rock melon, nashi pear and ginger spice flavours, finishing with toasty oak and subtle butterscotch notes. Barrel fermentation and aging in quality oak has conferred lovely creamy weight, length and complexity. Full bodied and perfectly balanced.

The grapes for this classical variety were sourced from one of our acclaimed single vineyards, Riverview, overlooking the Ngaruroro River. The 2020/21 growing season in Hawkes Bay enjoyed a climate of consistently warm, clear, sunny days and uniform temperatures. This near perfect weather pattern allowed the grapes to be harvested slowly at optimal ripeness, flavour profile and balance.

Harvesting of the chardonnay grapes took place on the 6th of March with the fruit arriving at the winery in excellent condition.

The juice was cooled settled for 24 hours, then inoculated with a selection of chardonnay specific yeasts. The juice was then transferred to French oak barrels (30% of which was new) for fermentation in two separate batches. Then, the wine underwent 30% malolactic fermentation to achieve an integrated buttery texture. Thereafter, each parcel spent ten months in oak with frequent lees stirring for enhanced complexity. The final wine was composed from selected barrels within each batch to achieve the desired wine style, before bottling under screwcap on the 7th of March 2022.

Food Pairing: Enjoy with pan fried fish and a caper butter sauce, or cellar judiciously for 3-4 years.