Elephant Hill

Reserve Chardonnay

Owned by the German Weiss family, Elephant Hill is a winery estate specialised in producing premium wine in small quantities. Reserve wines are only made when the fruit displays optimum ripeness and quality. Our overriding philosophy is to preserve the varietal integrity of the fruit from our vineyards.Climatically, 2016 was a cooler vintage and the picking began inlate March. Our coastal Te Awanga vineyard is proven to be an excellent site for Chardonnay and other white varieties. The wine is predominantly Clone 15 and 95 with a small amount of Clone 548 and 80% from our Te Awanga vineyard, 20% from our Bridge Pa Triangle vineyard. Whole berry pressed and fermented with indigenous yeast. The wine was aged in 26% new French oak for 12 months with some lees stirring, minimal malolactic fermentation.This wine displays yellow stonefruit and citrus characters with a toasty oak palate. It is finely concentrated and has subtle mineral elements. The exceptional fruit purity, concentration an