We've Done it again! -

C'est du déjà-vu!

In a second international comparative tasting, this time of 10 Chardonnay – five from Hawke’s Bay and five French heavyweights – Hawke’s Bay was placed first and three Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay where placed in the top five.

Ngatarawa Proprietor’s Reserve Chardonnay 2014 took out first place overall in the double-blind tasting held on 1 September at the Radegast Hotel in Beijing, China.

“Not only did we outshine the French reds in the comparative Syrah tasting in China earlier this year, but now we’ve demonstrated that we can also produce outstanding whites, with our award-winning Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay beating the French hands down.” says Michael Henley, Chairman of the Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers Association. “And our Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay is also great value for money.” says Henley: “The highest-ranking Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay and overall winner is almost one-eighth the price of the top French Chardonnay, which it outclassed.”

The 10 Chardonnay were judged by more than 30 wine writers, key influencers and trade buyers from China, with the panel established by internationally-renowned Dragon Phoenix Wine Consultants. Its co-founder, globally-recogonised judge and Master of Wine, Fongyee Walker, praised the calibre of the 2013 to 2015 vintage Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay being tasted. Fongyee Walker said that for a lot of the Chinese wine tasters, the NZ wines, with their purity of fruit, their vibrancy and their liveliness, are perhaps even more appealing than their more austere French counterparts, which she described as “truly heavy hitters” and “amongst the best Burgundy has to offer in terms of terroir”.

On Friday, Hawke’s Bay Wine wrapped up its second round of events for the year in Qingdao, with a masterclass and wine show at the Hyatt Qingdao for trade, consumers and media, before the 10 Hawke’s Bay wineries headed home, wrapping up year three of the China Marketing Programme with a bang.

A Hawkes Bay wine press release