Tony was the first in New Zealand to use concrete eggs for fermentation. Inspired by Chapoutier in France who were the first to use the Egg. Tony got a local concrete maker to experimentally develop these with the first release from 2015.
A true egg shape, these 1600 litre vessels help the circulation of yeast cells during fermentation and showcase the fruit without oak. The most noticeable effect the egg fermentation seems to have is in the wine’s texture. There is a real sense of completeness with the flavours and wine filling the whole palate. This is rich, savoury and complex with a small hint of smokiness along with citrus notes. This has lovely energy and poise with acidity driving through the palate. This has another dimension which more than makes up for any absence of oak.
Winery notes (2023 Vintage)
"Pale straw with green highlights. Lifted white flower aromas with lime blossom, honeydew melon, and a flinty dry stone minerality. The palate is energetic with pink grapefruit, honeydew melon juiciness, and a silky textural flow. The finish has a saline mineral quality with fresh and textured acidity leading to a salivating palatableness."
Rated Outstanding & 95/100 Cameron Douglas MS, September 2024 (2023 Vintage)
"A fascinating and complex wine with a bouquet that is slow at first to open up then suddenly a rush of aromas that embrace ripe white fleshed fruits, sweet grapefruit, and gentle mineral complexities. A poised and youthful wine touches the palate, first reflecting flavours from the bouquet then showcasing a mineral and sense of place layer. Persistent, taut and textured remains the theme with core flavours from fruits, lees and a fine chalky mouthfeel. Well made, complex and ready to drink from early 2025 through 2030."
Reviews for the 2022 vintage below…
5 Stars Michael Cooper (2022 Vintage)
"This distinctive, very generous wine is hand-harvested and handled in concrete egg-shaped fermenters, which 'create natural convection currents, holding the yeast lees in suspension'. Grown at Te Awanga, the 2022 vintage is already highly enjoyable. Bright, light yellow/green, it is full-bodied, with concentrated, ripe stonefruit flavours, showing excellent complexity, and a long, very savoury and harmonious finish. Best drinking 2025+."
5 Stars & 96/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, June 2023 (2022 Vintage)
"Exquisitely elegant and refined, the wine shows lemon pith, oatmeal, white floral and wet limestone nuances on the nose, followed by a brilliantly focused palate offering seamless flow and linear mouthfeel. Poised, impeccably balanced and structured with a sustained sophisticated finish. At its best: now to 2034."
5 Stars & 19+/20 (96) Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, July 2023 (2022 Vintage)
"Bright, even, pale yellow with a light green hue. The nose is elegantly full, with layers of nuts, minerals, fine spice, stonefruit and citrus. Medium-full bodied, pronounced aromas of lemon and grapefruit interweaved with white peach, citrus peels, stony minerals, delicate spice and hints of almonds. The wine is expressive, layered and in well-proportions. A touch of creaminess provides volume. The refined mouthfeel of stony minerals is almost chalky, glides along with well-managed acid tension to linearity. This enticing, expressive Chardonnay is complex, layered with well-portioned minerals, creaminess and nutty elements. Match with paua risotto and sweet prawn sashimi over the next 6-8 years. Handpicked Mendoza clone Chardonnay, fermented and aged in NZ made concrete egg-shaped fermenters, full MLF. 13.5% alc."
19/20 Joelle Thomson, June 2023 (2022 Vintage)
"Tony Bish’s Golden Egg Chardonnay lives up to its name and is consistently one of the best full bodied whites in New Zealand with delicious depth of flavour, a full body and smooth creamy texture. This textural win-win is underpinned by fruit flavours of ripe lemons, white peach and nectarine. Balanced acidity provides the wine with its long finish, which follows creamy fullness from fermentation in a concrete egg; a vessel designed to accentuate richness and balance in Chardonnay. This wine is golden by name and by nature."