Hawke’s Bay Wine has released a collection of 12 of its top Chardonnays, all from one vintage – 2019. This is the first time such a collection has been put together of white wines from the Bay, which is New Zealand’s second biggest wine region.

The inaugural collection was put together via submissions which were blind tasted by Cameron Douglas, a Master Sommelier, who conducted a blind tasting of all wines submitted.

The collection represents a range of Hawke’s Bay’s Chardonnay, highlighting the quality and diversity of this extremely popular white grape, which is the most planted white grape in the Bay; by a small margin, thanks to the popularity of Sauvignon Blanc and, increasingly, Pinot Gris.

The objective of the top 12 Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay Collection is to increase awareness of the outstanding and consistent quality of Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay, and its core role in the New Zealand wine story.

The first top 12 includes these wines:

2019 Askerne Estate The Archer Chardonnay
2019 Bilancia Tiratore Chardonnay
2019 Church Road Tom Chardonnay
2019 Clearview Estate Reserve Chardonnay
2019 Collaboration Wines Aurulent Chardonnay
2019 Coopers Creek Select Vineyards Limeworks Chardonnay
2019 Elephant Hill Salomé Chardonnay
2019 Monowai Estate Upper Reaches Chardonnay
2019 Pask Declaration Chardonnay
2019 Sacred Hill Riflemans Chardonnay
2019 Tony Bish Wines Heartwood Chardonnay
2019 Villa Maria Single Vineyard Keltern Chardonnay