Bilancia Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2023

100% Hawke's Bay fruit sourced entirely from our la collina Vineyard where it is grown on the lower terraces, the gentle slope and the flat, old riverbed. The site is planted to a number of different clones of Chardonnay, predominantly Clone 95 and Clone 15 with smaller numbers of Clones 548, 809, Mendoza and 1066.

The fruit is all hand picked, keeping each clone as separate as possible for handling in the winery. Each lot was whole-bunch pressed and the juice was run straight to puncheons and barrels, with no cold settling, for fermentation in French oak. Indigenous yeast carried the fermentation to dryness. The wine spent 16 months in oak prior to bottling; there was no fining or cold stabilisation.

The aim is to produce a wine that reflects the variety and the vineyard rather than the winemaking. The result a nicely wound, tight but not too tight, wine with emphasis on a fresh, food friendly style and evenly balanced palate. Ripe stonefruit on the nose and palate with great texture and character. This wine is ready to drink on release and will continue to develop positively for 4 – 6 years.