Beach House Hawkes Bay Selection Chardonnay 2024

Beach House Hawkes Bay Selection Chardonnay offers a generous, polished take on Hawke's Bay Chardonnay, with ripe peach, citrus blossom and brioche layered over toasted hazelnut, vanilla and gentle spice. The palate is creamy and seamless, bringing citrus and stone fruit together with savoury oyster-shell notes, fine acidity and a long, lightly toasty finish. Fruit from Ohiti Valley and the Track Vineyard in Gimblett Gravels is fermented and matured in French oak, giving the wine depth without losing its freshness. Rich enough for roast chicken or buttery fish, but balanced enough to enjoy on its own, this is a satisfying choice for drinkers who like full-flavoured Chardonnay with polish.

What the winery says:

The 2024 Chardonnay draws fruit from Ohiti Valley and the Track Vineyard in Gimblett Gravels. After pressing and cold settling, the juice was transferred to large-format and traditional-sized premium French barrels for fermentation, then matured in barrel for one year. The winery describes brioche, peach, citrus blossom, toasted nuts and spice, followed by spicy vanilla, toasty oak, citrus, stone fruit, oyster shell and savoury crystalline notes. Oak and malolactic characters are integrated through the seamless palate. The wine contains 13.5% alcohol and less than 1 gram per litre of residual sugar.

What the experts say:

Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, 93/100 & 5 Stars (2024 Vintage)
“Delightfully expressed and inviting, the bouquet shows summer peach, rockmelon, vanilla, and roasted hazelnut aromas.”