Hand-picked fruit from Eskdale, Hawke’s Bay; given 12 hours of skin contact, and two years maturation in new French oak. Under cork, it pours pure golden straw into the glass, with a nose of apricot, elderflower, quince, mandarin and roast chestnut. Medium bodied, showing a tannic apple-skin edge and a nip of oxidative ‘orange’ interest. Still, sweet and pure, with ripe peach, pear and pink grapefruit flavours.
Firm and with great tension through the mid-palate, when the savoury edge of crème fraiche, oyster shell, oatmeal and chamomile herbals starts to edge out the initial fruitiness. Quite linear and not heavy on texture, but has its own balance. Into a pleasing rounded, drying finish that’s quite ‘old world’ in style. 92pts. Not your average NZ Chardonnay – natural or ‘orange’ wine fans would find a lot to like in this.
