Bilancia Chardonnay 2021

Reviews

VINOUS - Rebecca Gibb MW: 92/100. The 2021 Chardonnay offers incredible value for money with a high level of attention to detail in both the vineyard and winery. It's a clear, elegant style that provides excellent intensity of pure, transparent fruit. It is supple yet delicate, finishing with masses of refreshment. Grown on a steep, north-facing slope, it was fermented wild in older oak and puncheons; there's a lot of care and a sense of being unforced. You can expect ripe peach and apricot flavors on the persistent finish. Drinking Window: 2023 – 2028

James Suckling (JamesSuckling.com): 92/100. Aromas of flint, ground ginger, grapefruit and pears. Medium-bodied with a tight structure and juicy finish. Fresh, with wet stone notes adding depth to the apple and pear fruit. Rosemary and thyme, too. Drink now. Screw cap.

Tasting Note:

It is a youthful, nicely wound wine with emphasis on a fresh, food-friendly style and evenly balanced palate. Ripe stonefruit and citrus on the nose and palate with great texture, character, some minerality and a nice line of acidity through the palate.

Aromas and flavours:

Additional information

Type: White wine

Varietal: Chardonnay

Vintage: The 2021 vintage was yet another in a run of great Hawke’s Bay harvests. A great growing season followed by perfect ripening conditions.

Winemaking: The Chardonnay fruit was all hand picked, with each vineyard kept separate as ferments. The fruit was whole-bunch pressed and the juice run straight to barrels from the press, with no cold settling, for fermentation in new and older French oak. Indigenous yeast carried the fermentations to dryness. The wine spent 11 months in oak prior to bottling; there was no fining or cold stabilisation.

Alcohol: 14% vol

Wine style: dry

Bottle size: 0.75l

Notice: Contains sulphites.

Cellaring potential: 2026+

Closure: Screwcap

Produced and bottled by: Bilancia Limited PO Box 2508 Hastings 4156 Hawke's Bay, New Zealand