Esk Valley Artisanal Chardonnay 2022

This is a medium bodied and full flavoured Hawkes Bay Chardonnay. Its flavour profile is a mix of peach, grilled nuts, oatmeal and grapefruit grapefruit with a subtle oak influence. It is both a complex and delicious expression of Hawkes Bay Chardonnay.

A blend of contrasting Hawkes Bay vineyard sites. Fruit from parcels of old vine clone 95 in Bay View and old Mendoza vines on the Gimblett Gravels provide the wine with richness and texture, while fruit from inland river terraces of the Ngaruroro River provide acidity and a flinty grapefruit note.

The individual vineyard parcels were harvested over a 10 day period in early March and fermented in French barriques utilising wild yeasts. A significant portion was allowed to undergo malo-lactic fermentation to soften the wine and add further complexity. The wine spent 7 months ageing in French oak barriques, 10% new. The wine was left on its fermentation lees undergoing regular stirring until blending and bottling in November 2022.

Barrel fermentation followed by 7 months in French oak barriques, 10% new