Holly Hawkes Bay Chardonnay

Sourced from two great vineyards in Hawke’s Bay, this is a rich barrel-fermented Chardonnay in the classic style with an accent on complexity and fruit weight.

Perfect with seafood, roast chicken, or huhu grubs sautéed in garlic butter. Already enjoyable, this wine will continue to improve over the next 3 to 7 years.

Vineyard

The fruit for this wine is sourced from two mature vineyards in the Bridge Pa and Crownthorpe regions of Hawkes Bay. The combination of a temperate climate and free draining stony silt loams make this region a paradise for grape growing. The vineyards are planted in Mendoza and 15 clones and consistently produce low yields of ripe fruit.

Winemaking

The fruit for this wine was harvested, pressed and the juice run immediately to French Barriques, 30% of which were new. Fermentation occurred in barrel with both wild and cultured yeasts to add complexity. Once fermentation was complete the wine remained in barrel on full lees for a total of 10 months, with regular stirring and topping to promote texture and autolytic complexity. A portion (approximately 50%) of the barrels went through Malolactic fermentation in spring to enhance mouthfeel and buttery characters.

Winemaker: Miles Dineen

Reviews

2022
Awarded Gold from CWSA
Awarded 94pts from Wine Orbit – Sam Kim

2021
Awarded Gold from New World Wine Awards Premium Selection
Awarded 95pts from Wine Orbit – Sam Kim
Awarded 92pts Wine Spectator
Awarded Silver IWSC

2020
Awarded 95pts from Wine Orbit – Sam Kim
Awarded 94pts from Wine Rater NZ

2019
Awarded 5 stars by Wine Orbit
Awarded 92pts Cameron Douglas MS

2018
Awarded 93pts Cameron Douglas MS
Awarded 91pts Bob Campbell