Mystery Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2018 (01)

Description

"The wine is attractively fruited and elegantly complex on the nose with yellow peach, rockmelon, nougat and roasted cashew characters. It is equally satisfying on the palate with bright fruit intensity and fleshy mouthfeel together with discreet oak infusion, making it charming and immediately appealing. At its best: now to 2021" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Sep 2019

This is an elegant style of Hawkes Bay Chardonnay. Aromas of citrus and white peach are followed by flavours of peach, melon, intermingled with notes of grilled nuts, butter and French oak spice.

The fruit for this wine was harvested from individual vineyard sites in Hawkes Bay. These vineyards provide the finished wine with ripe stonefruit characters while the cooler sites on river terraces add citrus notes and acidity to the finished wine. Shoot thinning, bunch thinning and leaf plucking are all practised in the pursuit of quality.

The individual parcels were harvested separately in mid-March and fermented in a mix of French oak barrels and tank. The finished wines were left on yeast lees until blending and bottling in December 2018. A portion of the wine was encouraged to go through malolactic fermentation to naturally soften the acidity.

Food Pairing: Ideally suited to rich seafood dishes or white meats including chicken and pork.