Decibel Hawke's Bay Viognier 2021

Decibel Hawke's Bay Viognier 2021Bone dry style Fresh apricot Jasmine Nougat & spice "An impressive Viognier with ripe apricot tree fruit flavours together with vanilla, quince and guava flavours. Smooth textured wine with subtle power and a lingering finish" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review "Bright, even, straw yellow with depth. The nose is voluminous, ripe aromas of melon, pear entwined with pear blossom and a lifting note of spice. Full bodied, dry to taste, aromas of

• Bone-dry style
• Fresh apricot
• Jasmine
• Nougat & spice

"An impressive Viognier with ripe apricot/tree fruit flavours together with vanilla, quince and guava flavours. Smooth-textured wine with subtle power and a lingering finish" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review

"Bright, even, straw-yellow with depth. The nose is voluminous, ripe aromas of melon, pear entwined with pear blossom and a lifting note of spice. Full-bodied, dry to taste, aromas of melon, ripe pear intermixed a hint of grapefruit, unfolding spice and rich floral on the finish. The ripe fruit has balanced acidity to carry the flavours, adorned by cardamon and ginger. Smooth-flowing mouthfeel lends a dry, lengthy finish. This is a smooth and spicy Viognier with ripe melon, pear flavour and balanced, fresh acidity. Match with veal and sweetbread over the next 3-4 years. Fruit from Bridge Pa, free run and light pressings went into a stainless steel tank while the hard pressings were fermented separately in puncheons" Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, Feb 2021

Rich florals, smoky notes, honeysuckle with just a hint of lychee on the nose. A soft entry to the palate is followed by a firm backbone of spice and oily textures. The finish is bold that should be paired with equally bold food choices.

This fruit was grown on a vineyard situated just off of Maraekakaho Road in the heart of the Bridge Pa Wine Growing District of Hawke's Bay. Hawke's Bay lies on the east coast of the North Island and consistently enjoys more sunlight hours and dry weather than the whole of New Zealand. The fruit was cropped specifically to make a 100% varietal Viognier with only one bunch per shoot, giving great fruit intensity. The fruit was machine harvested during a very dry and warm 2018-19 season, in the perfect window of clean, crisp fruit with optimal ripeness and intense floral notes crucial to Viognier. The vineyard is in transition to organic, using no weed sprays and stress irrigation techniques were trialed resulting in very intense fruit.

The fruit was deemed fairly rich before picking and the juice sat for only 1 hour on skins before being pressed. After pressing the free run and light press juice was put to tank and chilled to settle out the heavy solids. The hard pressings were sent to a separate tank, treated separately, and fermented on their own. Both portions were fermented with organic, selected yeast and maintained at a temperature from 14 to 16 degrees Celsius over the course of 16 days. After protein and cold settling, the two portions were blended back together for 6 weeks in tank, then cold through chilling, and protein stabilized with bentonite the finished wine was pad filtered and bottled under screwcap to maintain its excellent freshness and floral aromas.