Product Overview
Winery's Notes
"Bright pale straw colour with lemon tinges. Lovely fresh aromas of white fleshed peach, roasted cashews and hints river stones and toasted brioche. The palate is immediately open with ripe stonefruit and confit lemon flavours surrounded by a lovely creamy texture, a hint of fine oak, and finishing long with a savoury, flinty twist."
Varietal Composition: 100% Chardonnay
Appellation: Heretaunga, Hawke's Bay
Farming Practices: Sustainable
Aging: Fermented and aged 11 months in French oak barriques and puncheons, 53% new, then 6 months on lees in stainless steel tan prior to bottling
93 Points - Wine Advocate
"The 2023 Cru Heretaunga Chardonnay is spicy and reductive, with layers of incense, curry leaf, salted peach, crushed rock and brine. In the mouth, the wine is concentrated, savory and tightly coiled, and perhaps most attractively, it is possessed of a chalky texture that adds a third dimension of experience to the wine. This is very good. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap." -EL, 6/11/26
91 Points - Vinous
"The 2023 Chardonnay CRU Heretaunga is a richly flavored, barrel-fermented expression. It was the only Chardonnay that Smith & Sheth made in this cyclone-hit vintage. With no single vineyards, this is a blend of fruit selected from across its parcels. Around one-quarter to one-third of the fruit was left on the vines and plenty of wine was deemed not good enough to be sold under the label, so it was sold in bulk. What remained is in this bottle. The 2023 is round, powerful and savory. Medium to full in body, it is creamy and rich yet has impressive tension. Smoky bacon biscuity characters, flint and salty notes meet a touch of fresh apricot. Careful selection and rigorous decision-making crafted a well-made Chardonnay in a year where it's a surprise that a decent one could be made." -RG, Mar/2025
