2022 Sacred Hill Reserve Chardonnay

Brand	Sacred Hill Wines
Region	Hawkes Bay
Varietal	Chardonnay
Size	750ml
Alcohol %	13.5%
Vintage	2022
Country	New Zealand

Over the last 20 years at Villa Maria, 7 of those as Chief Winemaker, Nick Picone has crafted and shaped some of NZs finest Chardonnay, from Villa’s exceptional Reserves to the “World Class” Single Vineyard Ihumatao and Keltern. The awards cabinet of Champion Trophies, Golds, 5 Stars and +95/100-point ratings would be unparalleled in NZ. Add to that “NZ Winemaker of the Year” on ten separate occasions (2011-2020) … without question Nick is a NZ winemaking Superstar! Seeking new challenges, he teamed up with the new owners of Sacred Hill, excited about helping them shape their new vision for excellence. With Single Vineyards like “Rifleman’s” and “Deerstalkers”, plus Gimblett Gravels holdings yielding icon reds like “Helmsman” and “Brokenstone” – you can see why Nick made the change. This new 2022 Sacred Hill Reserve Chardonnay is benchmark quality at normal price! With fruit from the iconic Rifleman’s Chardonnay Vineyard, this 2022 is “Reserve” quality… you’re getting way more Chardonnay for the money than you could rightly expect or hope for!

Seductive and engaging aromas of buttered popcorn, golden peach, pink grapefruit, toasted sourdough, and vanilla oak.

A wonderful drinking Chardonnay with layers of fruit complexity… peach, nectarine, red apples, hints of pear. Throw in fine vanilla and spice oak complexities with excellent all-round winemaking… it has seductive mouthfeel. Extended lees aging and stirring brings delicious buttery richness with rounded tastes of pink grapefruit emerging in the perfect acid balance. A Chardonnay that will impress at a head scratching low price. Delicious drinking now through 2027 - perfect with roasted white meats, crispy pork belly and crayfish… save a glass or two for after dinner.