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Buy OnlineTony Bish is synonymous with Chardonnay. It is the only variety he produces and the core Fat & Sassy label is his bread and butter – or more aptly maybe toast and butter. 2021 was a super vintage in Hawkes Bay and this new release is an excellent one with a bit more spice and flintiness than the previous release. The wine shows immediate impact on the palate, with plenty of fruit-forward richness, and then carries through onto the finish. It is the kind of wine that sneaks up on you with its power.
Winery notes (2021 Vintage)
"This Chardonnay has a full, broad nose of refreshing and bright aromas of ripe yellow stone fruits and citrus fruits along with an edge of creamy and nutty barrel-ferment and spicy oak notes, subtle lemon-curd and buttery MLF notes. The palate has flavours of citrus fruits melded with creamy barrel-ferment and nutty, spicy oak.
The mouthfeel is enriched by integrated layers of lemon-curd and buttery MLF nuances. The palate has an underlying freshness with acid poise, and the wine flows along a fine-textured line with creamy nutty notes leading to a sustained finish with toasty oak."
Rated Excellent & 93/100 Cameron Douglas MS, April 2022 (2021 Vintage)
"Bold, intense and fruity bouquet centering on aromas of grapefruit and yellow peach, a creamy brazil nut butter scent and barrel spice complexity. Some lees layer in shape and breadth. Full-bodied with a creamy texture and contrasting acid line. Favours of nut and yellow fleshed fruit along with grapefruit and fruit spices, some baked custard and nuttty oak qualities deliver a wine of power and presence. Delicious, fresh, youthful and ready to drink from 2022 through 2026."
Reviews for previous vintages below…
5 Stars & 93/100 Wine Orbit, Sam Kim, April 2021 (2020 Vintage)
"Beautifully fruited and immediately appealing with golden peach, mango, spicy oak and nougat notes, it's succulent and supple on the palate delivering excellent fruit intensity together with creamy mouthfeel. It's youthfully charming and flavoursome with a lengthy delectable finish. At its best: now to 2024."
92/100 Angus Hughson, winepilot.com, July 2021 (2020 Vintage)
"Tony Bish is a chardonnay specialist. Actually you’d have to call him an evangelist as he only makes Hawkes Bay Chardonnay – yep nothing else. And here’s a chardonnay that flavour fans can sink their teeth into. Mid gold in colour, it’s an old fashioned fruit bomb but in a good way with lashings of ripe pear and nectarine fruits plus a nice touch of florals and all supported by quite subtle oak. The palate is then dry, full-bodied and creamy with powerful melon, papaya and buttery flavours well balanced by spicy oak and soft acidity. It’s hedonistic and it’s good….."
4 Stars Michael Cooper (2019 Vintage)
"‘All curves and lusciousness with exceptional sass’, the 2019 vintage was made with use of barrel fermentation and a softening malolactic fermentation. Bright, light yellow/green, it is a generous, upfront style, fruity and creamy-textured, with mouthfilling body and ripe, peachy flavours, very smooth and harmonious. Drink young."
