Icon | Hawkes Bay
Keltern Chardonnay
Vintage 2021
Description
Vintage
Vineyards
The Keltern Vineyard was established in 1999. Sitting east of Maraekakaho and hugging the western edge of the Bridge Pa Triangle and the Ngaruroro river, this unique site has over time become synonymous with exceptional Chardonnay, earning it’s place amongst New Zealand’s finest with an un-paralleled consistency in blind tasting success across multiple formats since the initial 2002 vintage.
Warm spring conditions in Hawkes Bay resulted in an early flowering in Chardonnay which set the tone for the rest of the hot, dry summer as the regular viticulture milestones of the growing season all ticked by earlier than normal. The 2021 Chardonnay harvest was off to a record early start with Keltern vineyard picking starting in earnest on the 22nd of February, our earliest harvest date yet. Hand-harvesting of pristine fruit enabled a minimal intervention winemaking approach, allowing Keltern’s unique characteristics to shine.
Located east of the Maraekakaho region in Hawkes Bay, directly in the path of cool air currents flowing from a mountain range to the west, the Keltern Vineyard is an inland site, buffered by the Ngaruroro River. Established on an ancient riverbed planted in 1999, the vineyard has silt loams layered over red metals, including large free-draining gravel stones.
