VINEYARD DECRIPTION
This wine is an individual barrel selection from the Howard's Bay View vineyard. Situated
on the former tidal estuary of the Esk River prior to the 1931 earthquake and planted
in 2001 with Burgundy clone 95, the Howard's Vineyard produces powerful wine with
noticeable peach flavours. The vineyard is dry farmed and intensively managed with low
yields to maximize the quality of fruit from the site. Shoot thinning, bunch thinning, leaf
plucking and hand picking are all employed.
WINEMAKING
The individual vineyard parcels were hand harvested and whole cluster pressed. Only
low juice yields were taken. The unsettled juice was gravity fed to barrel for fermentation
with indigenous yeasts and post ferment some barrels were allowed to undergo malolactic
fermentation to naturally soften the acidity. The finished wine was left on lees until
bottling with occasional lees stirring.
IDEAL DRINKING
2018– 2025
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Region: Hawkes Bay
Variety: Chardonnay
Oak Use: fermented and aged in French oak ( 35% new)
Alcohol: 13.0%
pH: 3.36
Total Acidity: 6.84gL
Residual Sugar: 0.0gL