A Hawke’s Bay wine, using Clone 548 fruit from the Fratelli vineyard in Bridge Pa, and some Mendoza clone fruit from the Two Terraces vineyard in Mangatahi. A vibrant pale straw-yellow in the glass. Varietally pure and invitingly scented, with peach, hazelnut, grapefruit pith, oatmeal, lemon and wood smoke. Some weight shows immediately in the palate, with a complex and layered elements that take in savoury, spice and minerality as you go. Texture is not ignored, with a broad creaminess that balances the flinty acidity, completing a broad circle that echoes back to the nose, with a juicy persistence to the finish. 93pts
Smith & Sheth CRU Heretaunga Chardonnay 2022
