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SKU 737940
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Esk Valley Chardonnay 2011 750ml
Esk Valley
- Hawkes Bay
- New Zealand
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In the past couple of decades, the sales of wines made with Chardonnay grapes has risen and fallen more than once. For many people, this green skinned grape was marred by a poor reputation for bland and uninteresting wines, a great shame considering the fact that Chardonnay grapes have proven time and time again to be interesting, versatile and full of surprises. Most commonly, fine Chardonnay wines are buttery, smooth and creamy as a result of malolactic fermentation, yet with hints of tropical fruits and orchard fruits such as apples and pears. What is most remarkable about Chardonnay grapes, however, is the fact that unlike many other 'white' grapes, they are exceptionally good at holding the characteristics of their terroir in the bottle. As such, despite their fluctuating reputation, this is one grape varietal which produces constantly surprising, impressive and varied wines.
The beautiful and airy northern New Zealand region of Hawkes Bay has been an important spiritual home for the country's wine industry for over a hundred and fifty years now. Indeed, Hawkes Bay is widely regarded as the oldest of New Zealand's wine regions, which, in a relatively young country such as New Zealand, makes it something quite special and has allowed the region to develop its own style and identity. Hawkes Bay today produces a wide range of wines, made from many different grape varietals. However, it is the Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay wines of the region which have gained the most recognition and praise over recent decades, alongside the fact that the region's dessert wines are now considered amongst the finest in the New World.
When it comes to New World wines, few countries can compete with Europe quite as well as New Zealand, where modern techniques and technologies are allowing wineries to get the very best results from the wide range of imported grape varieties which flourish there. The warm, sunny climate coupled with brisk oceanic winds and remarkably fertile volcanic soils produce grapes of exceptional quality, and New Zealand wines are notable for their ability to carry the terroir they are grown on into the bottle. Whilst the Sauvignon Blanc wines are probably the most widely exported and popular to come out of new Zealand, fantastic results have been produced from the Bordeaux style wines made in the Auckland region, and the Pinot Noir wines of Central Otago. These Pinot Noir wines are far more fleshy than their Burgundy counterparts, and are probably best enjoyed when young, and bursting with the fruit flavors they carry so well.
