Villa Maria Reserve Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2024

Description

Grapefruit, Oak, Vanilla

Pale gold in the glass with aromas of ripe stone fruit, citrus flowers, and grilled nuts. Natural barrel fermentation influences have created flinty complexity and the finish is driven by a generous palate and succulent acidity. Cellar this wine with confidence for up to 5-8 years from vintage.

A cool, dry, and windy spring saw very low potential yields form on the vines. The summer that followed was hot and dry with the low yielding vines producing very concentrated fruit. Cooler nights in February helped retain the succulent natural acidity that the 2024 Chardonnay’s will be remembered for. Grapes for this wine were hand-picked from the Keltern vineyard in perfect condition early in the season.

The grapes for this were grown solely on the iconic Keltern vineyard located in Maraekakaho sub-region of Hawke’s Bay. This vineyard site has been producing Fine Chardonnay for over 20 years.

Hand harvested from the Keltern vineyard in late February; the whole bunches were gently pressed to allow the finest quality of juice to be run directly into French oak barriques for natural fermentation. Once complete the individual parcels matured on yeast lees with regular batonnage 11 months. The finest barriques were then identified and blended and the wine was aged for an additional 9 months on full lees in stainless steel tank before preparation for bottling.