But Hugh Crichton and Vidal Estate have gone one level higher than ‘Legacy’ with the making of a very limited quantity of a super-premium Chardonnay, from a tiny parcel of fruit from one of the ‘Legacy’ vineyards. For Hugh, it was just too good not to bottle separately, and Hugh was very sensitive to ensure that making this wine did not detract in any way from the extremely high standard of the ‘Legacy’ Chardonnay. Hugh sees that there may be other vintages of this super-premium wine, but only in the very greatest vintages. No other variety will be used.
The wine is named ‘Anthony Joseph Vidal 1888’ in honour of the founder of Vidal Estate, marking the year of his arrival to New Zealand. Anthony Joseph Vidal established Vidal Estate in 1905, and soon earned a reputation for excellent wine, championing the Hawke’s Bay region. The wine comes from the Lyons ‘Love Block’ and is based on clone 15 fruit from vines planted in 1996. The wine, coming from arguably the best Hawke’s Bay vintage, is regarded as the absolute pinnacle of Vidal Estate. Here is my review of the wine. www.vidal.co.nz
