Tiki 'Koro' Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018

Tiki 'Koro' Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2018"Wonderfully fruited and fragrant, the bouquet shows golden peach, rockmelon, vanilla and cedar characters, leading to a succulent palate that is fleshy and rounded. The wine offers terrific fruit intensity together with stylish oak nuances, backed by bright acidity and creamy mouthfeel. Delectable and highly enjoyable. At its best: now to 2022" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Feb 2019 A delicate, pale straw green colour in the glass. Exhibits a very strong

"Wonderfully fruited and fragrant, the bouquet shows golden peach, rockmelon, vanilla and cedar characters, leading to a succulent palate that is fleshy and rounded. The wine offers terrific fruit intensity together with stylish oak nuances, backed by bright acidity and creamy mouthfeel. Delectable and highly enjoyable. At its best: now to 2022" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Feb 2019

A delicate, pale straw green colour in the glass. Exhibits a very strong combination of Mendoza Chardonnay fruit, complex toasty oak and yeast lees along with subtle malolactic fermentation aromas. A full-flavoured Chardonnay delivering clear varietal flavours supported by a fullness and creaminess derived from extended time on yeast lees in barrel. Full malolactic fermentation has helped to soften the wine and add complexity of flavour that is supported by a smoky oak background from the barrel-aging.

The weather conditions were variable with some rain pressure late in the season. However the warm summer allowed the Chardonnay fruit to attain full maturity while still retaining a good level of natural acidity to ensure freshness and flavour. Climatically there were a few challenges but nonetheless harvest decisions were able to be made on flavour ripeness.

The fruit was handharvested at optimum ripeness and transported quickly to the winery. It was then whole-bunch pressed using a Champagne cycle with no press cuts. Pressing was followed by cold settling to clarify the juice. The clear juice was fermented in 70% new French Oak Barriques with a specialty Chardonnay yeast and then went through a full malolactic fermentation to add complexity to the palate. After fermenting in barrel, the wine was aged for ten months on yeast lees with fortnightly stirring to encourage extraction of yeast mannoproteins that aid with palate weight and roundness.

Food Pairing: Perfect with seafood with rich cream-based sauces or roast chicken. For a speciality cheese match try Parmesan, Aged Cheddar or Aged Gouda.