Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2021

Description

• Subtle French oak
• Ripe stone fruit
• Cashews
• Silky mouthfeel

Classically Hawkes Bay in style, this Chardonnay reveals a fragrant nose of fresh citrus and ripe stone fruit, with complexing cashew characters from subtle French oak. A silken textured mouthfeel unfolds with layers of fruit, delicate oak spice and subtle mealy flavours topped with wonderful acidity.

The 2021 Hawkes Bay vintage was exceptionally warm, dry and settled, allowing the vast majority of fruit to be harvested early across the region with generous ripe flavours and in pristine condition.

Fruit from several prestigious Chardonnay vineyards throughout Hawkes Bay feature in this wine. Once harvested and pressed the resulting juice was fermented in a mixture of oak barriques (14% new) with a combination of inoculated and wild yeast. Partial malolactic fermentation has added weight to the mid palate. Nine months maturation on full yeast lees with regular stirring followed in barrel prior to the wine being blended and bottled.

Food Pairing: A classic match with most white meats, rich seafood dishes, cheese and salads. Also highly enjoyable on its own.