Decibel Hawke's Bay Viognier 2019

Decibel Hawke's Bay Viognier 2019Dry style Orange blossom Cinnamon toast Chalky finish "Bright, light yellow with a green hue, even colour throughout. The nose is intense and full with flavours of stonefruit, lemon and reminiscent of lilies, along with a subtle note of spices. Medium full bodied, dry to taste, the palate is rounded with flavours of ripened white peaches and nectarines, an amalgam of spices and underlying fragrance of lilies. The mouthfeel is lush and oily with a good

• Dry style
• Orange blossom
• Cinnamon toast
• Chalky finish

"Bright, light yellow with a green hue, even colour throughout. The nose is intense and full with flavours of stonefruit, lemon and reminiscent of lilies, along with a subtle note of spices. Medium-full bodied, dry to taste, the palate is rounded with flavours of ripened white peaches and nectarines, an amalgam of spices and underlying fragrance of lilies. The mouthfeel is lush and oily with a good concentration of ripened stonefruit, balanced by the right amount of acidity. The pretty scent of lilies and acidity shows the classic character of Viognier. The delicate spices on the finish added interest and uplifted the finish. This is a generous Viognier with ripened flavours of stonefruit, lilies and spices on an oily and full mouthfeel. Match with spicy Thai food over the next 3-5 years" Candice Chow, Raymond CHan Wine Reviews, Jul 2020

"Attractively fruited and beautifully fragrant, the bouquet shows apricot, green tea, floral and subtle spice aromas. The palate displays lovely weight and roundness, together with silky mouthfeel and well-pitched acidity, finishing supple and fleshy" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Sep 2020

Fresh wafer on the nose with hints of white flower and anise. After opening up brighter floral notes and orange blossom dominate the nose. The palate is crisp with a spicy oiliness driving the midpalate. The finish has a chalky minerality that makes for a lingering flavours for excellent food pairings. There are hints of cinnamon toast, brioche and lemon meringue pie.

This fruit was grown on a vineyard situated just off of Maraekakaho Road in the heart of the Bridge Pa Wine Growing District of Hawkes Bay. Hawkes 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 very clean and crisp before picking and the juice sat for a few hours 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 seperate tank, treated separately and fermented on its own. Both portions were fermented with an organic, selected yeast and maintained at a temperature from 14 to 16 degrees Celsius over the course 18 days. After protein and cold settling the two portions were blended back together for 10 weeks in tank, then cold stabilised through chilling and protein stabilised with bentonite. The finished wine was pad filtered and bottled under screw cap to maintain its excellent freshness and floral aromas. The wine is also vegan friendly.