ELEPHANT HILL CHARDONNAY 2017

Elephant Hill are well and truly establishing themselves as one of the star wineries in the Hawkes Bay gaining recognition and accolades for many of their wines. The Elephant Hill Chardonnay 2017 is outstanding, showing fantastic presence, length, balance and texture. It has a fruit purity at its core but it is very much a multi layers Chardonnay with well judged savoury elements.

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5 Stars & 94/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, February 2019 (2017 Vintage)
"Beautifully fruited and elegantly expressed, the bouquet shows ripe stone fruit, rockmelon, nougat and cedar characters. The palate delivers excellent weight and generous mouthfeel, wonderfully supported by creamy texture and bright acidity, leading to a lengthy refined finish. At its best: now to 2022."

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Reviews for the 2016 vintage below…

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94/100 Jamie Goode, April 2019 (2016 Vintage)
"From Te Awanga, which seems to be suited to Chardonnay, this is taut, lean and quite mineral with some reductive hints and good concentration to the citrus and pear fruit. Still quite backward with keen acidity, this has a bright future ahead of it. Stony and taut on the finish."

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5 Stars & 18.5+/20 (94) Raymond Chan, October 2017 (2016 Vintage)
"Bright, pale straw-yellow colour with slight green hues, lighter on the edge. The nose is elegantly proportioned and fine in expression with good depth and taut intensity of white and yellow stonefruits and citrus fruit entwined with subtle creamy barrel-ferment and nutty oak aromas with nuances of flint. The componentry is harmoniously bound and the nose retains good freshness. Medium-full bodied, the palate has a finely presented, well-concentrated core of white and yellow stonefruits, citrus fruit and mealy notes, along with subtle creamy barrel-ferment and nutty elements unfolding a little flinty detail. The fruit intensity and richness is balanced by fresh acidity and the wine flows along a very fine, textural-threaded line, leading to a refreshing finish. This is an elegant but concentrated Chardonnay with intense and complex flavours of stonefruit and citrus fruit with meal, and nutty layers with flint suggestions, and a fresh palate. Serve with grilled and roasted seafood, poultry and pork dishes over the next 4-5 years. Hand-picked fruit from the estate Te Awanga vineyard, WBP and fully indigenous yeast barrel-fermented to 13.7% alc., the wine aged 11 months on lees in 25% new oak barriques with no MLF."