The fruit for this wine is sourced from the Chalk Ridge block just to the south of Havelock North. It is so named due to the amount of fractured limestone in the soil profile. It is a very steep vineyard and is very difficult to work (too steep for a tractor, so we had to purchase a crawler). The vineyard faces due north and is very warm during the day. The block is always hand-harvested, which took place on March 14th. Once at the winery the grapes were whole bunch pressed to tank, and fermented cool to encourage the development of lifted aromatics. As soon as the ferment was finished the wine was given a very light filtration and bottled. The bottled wine was then bottle aged in the cellar for 14 months prior to release.
“Chalk Ridge” Select Vineyards Hawkes Bay Viognier 2020
$23.75 incl GST
A dry white wine, which exhibits typical Viognier aromas of peach and apricot blossom and ripe stone fruit. A big rich wine full of fruit sweetness delivering a long and satisfying finish
Analysis
Alc 13%
Acid 7.3 g/L
Res sugar <1 g/L
pH 3.48
Tasting Notes
Colour: Very pale in the glass at bottling, but we expect that this wine will pick up pale gold tints with time. Massive tears on the glass indicate a wine of considerable body and richness.
Bouquet: Very typical Viognier aromas of peach and apricot blossom and ripe stonefruit. Along with this there is a degree of complexity that we seldom see in New Zealand wines. We use the wines of Condrieu as our benchmark for this variety and aromatically this wine is trending in that direction.
Palate: This is a big rich wine. Like all good Viognier, the palate is very broad and very long. There is a strong core of fruit sweetness running all the way through the wine.
Cellaring
Viognier does not seem to require long cellaring. We expect that this wine will drink well on release and into the medium term.
Food Matching
Rich, weighty and complex it is a great match to white meats and salads.
Suggested Wine List Description
A dry white wine, which exhibits typical Viognier aromas of peach and apricot blossom and ripe stone fruit. A big rich wine full of fruit sweetness delivering a long and satisfying finish.
Independent Reviews
“Bright, light yellow/green, it has very good concentration of fresh, peachy, citrusy flavours, slightly smoky and toasty notes adding complexity, and a tightly structured finish. Best drinking 2023+." M Cooper, July 2021
Awards
41/2 Stars Winestate Magazine, July/August 2021
41/2 Stars Wine Orbit, Sept 2020