Bilancia 'La Collina' Syrah 2021

The la collina vineyard is a steep, terraced and incline planted hillside vineyard on the North/Northwest facing slopes of Roys Hill, west of Hastings, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. The hillside is protected from the cooling effects of the southerly winds and during the growing season the vine-yard is bathed in sunshine. The hillside terraces are planted to Syrah (and a few other interesting Varieties) whilst the lower slopes and Gravels flat are planted to Chardonnay and Viognier/Marsanne/Roussanne. The 2021 growing season was the third leg of a Hawke’s Bay winning trifecta; dry and warm and all round, a great season. The fruit was hand harvested in perfect condition over two days in early April. The perfect condition of the fruit allowed for the inclusion of some whole bunches in the fermentation. The wine was fermented in open top fermenta-tion vessels, pressed at dryness and transferred to barriques where the wine remained for 20 months.

ABOUT THE PRODUCER:

Bilancia is a Hawkes Bay winery owned and run by winemakers Lorraine Leheny and Warren Gibson. Warren spent some time working in Southern Italy and it was here, reading the paper in the sun that he stumbled across his and Loraine’s horoscope, the Libra, or as it is known in Italian, Bilancia. A fitting name, it is synonymous with equilibrium and harmony and this has become the working philosophy behind their wines. Established in 1997, the six hectare vineyards of Bilancia are located on the North facing slope of Roy’s Hill where Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Syrah can be found. Famous for their Bilancia’s La Collina (Italian for hill) Syrah, a powerful yet elegant red which is widely regarded as one of the archetypes of New Zealand Syrahs, they now have a new wine on the block, Bilancia’s Tiratore Chardonnay. When planting this single vineyard, they came across an unusual phenomenon of terroir, every whole dug led to the discovery of more and more spent bullets. ‘Tiratore’ translates to firing range, and this wine really is firing on all cylinders, an instant rival to any New Zealand Chardonnay.

A small vineyard with a beautiful name, Bilancia is a winery that is punching well above its weight.