Te Mata Estate Zara Hawke's Bay Viognier 2018

Description

A fairytale of a wine, Zara Viognier ’18 is fine straw-gold and weaves ripe white peach, fragrant jasmine and honeysuckle into a lively, finely textured and opulent experience. Hints of nectarine, apricot and liquorice on the nose transform to voluptuous lychee, popcorn and ginger syrup on the palate. From a spectacular vintage, Zara Viognier ’18 is a ripe-fruited dream, spun from New Zealand’s oldest viognier vines. Zara ’18 will continue to develop in bottle for three to four years from harvest.

Zara is affectionately named after Zara Buck, the first born child of the third generation of Te Mata Estate’s Buck family. Zara spent her childhood playing amongst the vines at the vineyard which is home to this delightful viognier. Since 1995, Te Mata has led the way with New Zealand's production of Viognier, a rare white grape from France's Rhône Valley. Fermented in barrel, it displays the floral, white peach and honey characters foun in the finest examples of this entrancing variety.

Between 21 to 25 March 2018, fully ripe viognier grapes were hand harvested in several passes across the sloping middle terrace of Te Mata Estate’s Woodthorpe Terraces Vineyard.

The individually handled ferments were blended to enhance the wine’s varietal complexity. The finished wine was fined before bottling.