Fruit driven in style and exhibiting ripe stone fruit characteristics, with further underlying hints of tropical and citrus flavours. On the palate the up-front fruit flavours are followed by a creamy and nutty texture with integrated oak characters. A richly structured wine that is soft and styled for enjoyment now.

VINEYARDS: The Villa Maria Private Bin East Coast blend consists of parcels grown in Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and a small portion from Marlborough. This inter-regional blend produces a complete wine displaying the full spectrum of Chardonnay flavours. Gisborne, in the north of the country, is the warmest grape growing region and produces rich and full bodied Chardonnays. Hawkes Bay, in the East, typifies Chardonnay with stone fruit and peach characters while Marlborough, on the north of the South Island, produces refined, elegant and tightly structured Chardonnays. The vineyards in the three regions are managed slightly differently to ensure that their individual microclimate produces the optimal fruit.

WINEMAKING: Post harvesting the fruit was crushed and pressed and then cold settled. The heavy press cuts were separated from the free run wine to ensure a soft and well balanced wine. After cold settling, the clear juice was racked off the grape solids to stainless steel vessels for fermentation. The focus was on ensuring a cool fermentation to retain freshness and aroma. Upon completion of fermentation a small portion of the blend was inoculated for malolactic fermentation, while the remaining wine was matured on yeast lees to provide texture and complexity. Approximately 25% of the wine was matured in oak barriques to provide further weight and texture to the palate.