Tony Bish Zen Chardonnay Hawke's Bay 2018 - GIFT BOX

Raymond Chan

Clear, medium yellow colour with a slight gold hue. The nose is complex and elegantly presented. Nuances of warmed hazelnuts, lemon curd in the centre, interweaved with fresh herbs, sweet chamomile; unveiling spices melded in subtle soft and light caramel and cream. Medium-bodied, lemon curd and spices are on the centre stage, complexing flavours of fresh herbs mingled with hazelnuts, discreet caramel and cream nuances. The palate is bright and structured; the acid is lively with power, leading the flows with great energy to a wet-stone mineral texture line balanced by light cream, leaves a long and sustained finish. This is a sophisticated and elegant Chardonnay, full of charming interests that excite and satisfy. Match with exotic shellfish and white truffle over the next 6+ years. The second release, single-vineyard Skeetfield block, Mendoza clone. Handpicked, fermented in French oak ovum egg and new French oak barriques to 13.5%. Full MLF. 19.5/20pts

Jamie Goode

Beautiful nose with subtly mealy citrus fruit. The palate has beautiful texture and finesse. There's a bright, lively citrus core with fine-grained structure. Such precision and detail with some spicy, mealy richness. There's amazing intensity and balance here. There are layers of flavour, with lemons, saline notes, and some grapefruit notes. This is profound. Tony Bish says egg Chardonnays don't need to age as long before release, and may not live as long as barrique aged ones, but can deliver profundity.

Wine Orbit

Ethereal and engaging, this stunning chardonnay shows white flesh nectarine, rockmelon, lemon pith and nougat characters on the nose with nuances of cedar and spice. It's magnificently concentrated on the palate, exhibiting exceptional depth and focus combined with creamy mouthfeel and perfectly pitched acidity, finishing tremendously long and refined.

Bob Campbell

Grapes from Skeetfield vineyard were fermented in a large egg-shaped vessel made of Taransaud French oak and christened Ovum. The result is an impressively seamless and quite concentrated chardonnay with apple, white peach, ginger, and subtle oak flavours.

Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier

This is a beautiful wine. Aromas of ripe grapefruit, pear, some apricot stone then layers of complexity from lees and wild ferment with a flinty seam and soft, very quiet cashew nut moment. On the palate silky textures give way to a youthful tension from the acidity then flavours of citrus and apple, pear and peach, nut and lees. Balanced, complex, lengthy and well made.

Din VinGuide

Din VinGuide paneltest af 35 chardonnay fra Australien og New Zealand: Meget burgundisk i udtrykket med fersken, citrus og vanilje. Man fornemmer en vis dybde, og smagen er lang og kompleks. SUPERVIN | 700 KR. (TILBUD)

Michael Cooper

This powerful, distinctive wine is made in an 'ovum' – an egg-shaped, French oak barrel which creates unique convection currents, keeping the wine's yeast lees in suspension. Harvested from mature vines in the Skeetfield Vineyard, at Fernhill, it is fermented with indigenous yeasts, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. The second 2018 vintage (5*) is a bright, light yellow/green, sturdy, rich wine, with notably concentrated stonefruit flavours, finely poised acidity, and highly impressive complexity and harmony. Well worth cellaring, it's already delicious.

Vivino

Ketil Sauer, Sommelier

(Din VinGuide paneltest af 35 chardonnay fra Australien og New Zealand)

Thomas Rydberg

(Din VinGuide paneltest af 35 chardonnay fra Australien og New Zealand)