2020 Hawkshead Pinot Blanc

We always knew one Pinot was missing in our portfolio, Pinot Blanc. 

2020 made the headlines for all the wrong reasons and we were looking for a positive, real get up & go project. So a serious search for the perfect Central Otago Pinot Blanc started and we found a gem. 

Pinot Blanc is a very popular summer wine in Europe.  Loved for its fresh and fruity lightness, but also for its restraint elegant character.  Pinot Blanc has the ability to enhance lots of different food pairings and is also a great choice for a social drink at any time of the day.

Enjoying Hawkshead 2020 Pinot Blanc is easy, yet it is a classy, off-dry, summer-fresh wine.   With aromas of ripe, buttery pears, white peaches and faint notes of white rambling roses. All the arising promise rolls over the palate with ease add to those flavours a smidgen of citrus and sweet spice and you enjoy a Hawkshead 2020 Pinot Blanc.

Try it and let us know if you agree.

Technical Notes

Download Technical Notes PDF

Sub-Region: 60 % Gibbston and 40% Cromwell basin

Colour: Pale lemon
Style: Off-Dry

Flavour Profile: 

Pinot Blanc often called the understudy of the Chardonnay grape variety, is full of versatility, character and very much liked in France and Germany.

Central Otago’s climatic and soil condition bring out the very best of Pinot Blanc, especially retaining good acidity and freshness.

Hawkshead 2020 Pinot Blanc delights with the memory of a mouthful of fresh, very ripe Beurre Blanc pears, add a pinch of sweet spice, then discover aromas of white peach with a twist of lemon. The wine is of rich texture with good palate weight and shows some nutty/mineral characters. 

Hawkshead 2020 Pinot Blanc is off-dry, with elegant neutrality and a delicate character. A classy summer food wine. Having a glass of Pinot Blanc is enjoying the moment, the company, easy to drink now, great for lunch, or instead of tea in the afternoon. Anytime is Pinot Blanc time.

Winemaking Comments:   The Pinot Blanc was hand-harvested and selected during the middle of April. The wine was whole bunch pressed and fermented in both stainless steel tanks and old french barrique (17.5%).

Indigenous yeast fermented the wine over the next six to eight weeks; then the wine rested on its lees for four months to build up texture before being racked and filtered for clarification before bottling.

Wine Analysis: pH 3.40, TA 6.1g/L, Alc 13%, Res Sugar 8 g/L
Bottling Date: 11th November 2020
Wine Maker: Dean Shaw