Bilancia 'Trelinnoe' Chardonnay 2022

A single vineyard Chardonnay from Trelinnoe (tree-lin-o) Vineyard on Roys Hill named for the owner’s historical ties to Cornwall. The Roys Hill hillside terraces are sandstone over limestone and are planted with clone UCD15 Chardonnay. 2020 was a spectacular vintage for Hawke’s Bay and this Chardonnay shows greatness of the vintage. Ripe, full fruit and complexity perfectly balanced with the oak influence results in a classic, tight Chardonnay, moderately restrained in its youth but with time it will open up to rich, food friendly wine. This wine is ready to drink on release and will continue to develop positively for 6 – 8 years.

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.