ESK VALLEY ARTISANAL COLLECTION CHARDONNAY 2020

Winery notes (2020 Vintage)
"Fermented with wild yeast in French Oak Barriques, our rich Chardonnay has a mix of peach, grilled nuts, butter, grapefruit and subtle oak spice on the palate.

This is a rich and full flavoured Hawkes Bay Chardonnay. Its flavour profile is a mix of peach, grilled nuts, butter, grapefruit with a subtle oak spice. It is both complex and delicious and a classic expression of Hawkes Bay Chardonnay."

Rated Outstanding & 95/100 Cameron Douglas MS, May 2021 (2020 Vintage)
"A bouquet with complexity and intrigue, depth and curiosity. Tense and youthful with flavours of white and yellow tree fruits, a touch of grapefruit, lees, mineral and spice. Excellent texture with a core of fruit surrounded by oak, fine wood tannins and contrasting acidity. Well made, but does need some time to develop more harmonious transitions. Well made and likely best drinking mid to late 2022 through 2026+."

5 Stars & 93/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, May 2021 (2020 Vintage)
"Beautifully composed and complex, the wine shows apricot, fig, vanillin oak and subtle flinty notes on the nose, followed by a gorgeously rounded palate offering creamy mouthfeel and elegant oak infusion, making it fabulously drinkable. At its best: now to 2026."

4 ½ Stars Michael Cooper (2020 Vintage)
"Instantly appealing, the top value 2020 vintage was harvested at two sites, at Bay View and Maraekakaho, and fermented with indigenous yeasts in French oak barriques. Bright, light lemon/green, it is mouthfilling, with generous, vibrant, citrusy, peachy flavours, biscuity, mealy, slightly smoky notes adding complexity, balanced acidity, and a finely textured, creamy-smooth finish. A very harmonious wine, it should break into full stride 2022+."

4 Stars Yvonne Lorkin, June 2021 (2020 Vintage)
"This is a chardonnay that’ll wow the crowds and get the party started for certain. With bright peach and citrus notes abound, creamy almond meal layers, gentle acidity and a soft tug of toasty oak to add some juice and joy to the finish. Delicious."

4 Stars NZ Wine Rater, July 2021 (2020 Vintage)
"A youthful, attractive, quite perfumed example of the variety with melon, stone fruit, and nashi pear aromas with hints of cinnamon, and toasty vanilla from barrel influence. Dry, and rich with plenty of drive, and energy, zesty acidity, and smoky, oaky notes on the finish. Needs some more time for all the components to harmonise."