Bilancia La Collina Syrah 2020

Region and Vineyards

Bilancia’s La Collina Syrah comes from the la collina vineyard in Hawke’s Bay, one of New Zealand’s premier wine regions. The sun-facing hillside vineyard benefits from a warm climate, which is ideal for ripening Syrah, while the cooling sea breezes help maintain acidity and freshness in the grapes. The vineyard’s position above the renowned Gimblett Gravels ensures that the Syrah grapes develop deep, concentrated flavors while maintaining elegance and structure.

This vineyard is managed with a focus on low yields, ensuring that the fruit is of the highest quality, with small, intensely flavored berries. The grapes are hand-harvested in multiple passes to ensure optimal ripeness for each parcel.

Winemaking

The Bilancia La Collina Syrah is crafted using traditional co-fermentation techniques, where a small portion of Viognier skins is added to the Syrah during fermentation. This method, inspired by the great wines of the Northern Rhône, adds aromatic complexity and enhances the wine’s texture.

The wine undergoes 21 months of aging in light-impact French oak barrels, which allows the tannins to soften and the wine’s flavors to integrate seamlessly. The use of new French oak is carefully balanced to complement the fruit without overwhelming it. The result is a wine with great elegance, harmony, and the potential for long-term aging.

Tasting Notes

• Color: Deep ruby with purple highlights.
• Aroma: A complex bouquet of lavender, rose petals, and dark berries, alongside savory notes of smoked meat, black tea, and graphite. Subtle hints of star anise, clove, and umami add further layers of complexity.
• Palate: The palate is light yet powerful, with flavors of pomegranate, blackcurrant, and dark raspberry, complemented by notes of spice and earth. The wine’s ultra-fine tannins and lively acidity create a long, persistent finish with layers of evolving flavors.
• Finish: Long and elegant, with lingering notes of black pepper, clove, and smoky meat.

History of Bilancia

Bilancia was founded in the late 1990s by winemakers Warren Gibson and Lorraine Leheny, both of whom have extensive experience in the wine industry. Warren has worked across New Zealand and internationally, including prestigious roles in France and Australia, while Lorraine brings her expertise from her background in Australian winemaking. Together, they envisioned creating a winery that focused on balance in all aspects of winemaking, from vineyard to bottle.

The name Bilancia, meaning balance in Italian, reflects the winery’s philosophy of harmonizing fruit, acidity, tannin, and oak to create wines of depth and finesse. This idea of balance also refers to the Libra sign, emphasizing the precision and care taken in every decision, from vineyard management to harvest. Since its founding, Bilancia has become one of the most respected boutique wineries in New Zealand, known for its terroir-driven wines, particularly from the la collina vineyard.

Region and Vineyards

Bilancia is based in the Hawke’s Bay region, one of the most diverse and important wine-producing areas in New Zealand. Hawke’s Bay benefits from a warm maritime climate, long sunshine hours, and cooling sea breezes, creating an ideal environment for Chardonnay, Syrah, and other varieties. The region’s diverse soils, including limestone, sandstone, and alluvial gravels, contribute to the complexity and variety of the wines produced here.

The winery’s flagship vineyard, la collina, is located on the steep slopes of Roys Hill, a site with limestone-rich soils that are perfect for producing wines with structure and minerality. The vineyard's location, with its well-draining slopes and optimal sun exposure, allows for low yields of intensely flavored fruit. The Syrah grown on this vineyard is particularly renowned for its balance of floral aromatics, dark fruit, and spicy undertones, while the Chardonnay reflects the site’s minerality and precision.

Additionally, Trelinnoe Vineyard on Roys Hill contributes to Bilancia’s Chardonnay portfolio. The vineyard’s sandstone over limestone soils impart a crisp acidity and a mineral-driven profile, while the careful selection of clones like UCD15 ensures a complex and age-worthy wine. These sites are managed with an eye toward sustainability, ensuring the long-term health of the vines and the land.

Wine Range

Bilancia is particularly known for its Chardonnay and Syrah, with a strong focus on expressing the individual characteristics of each vineyard.

• La Collina Syrah is the flagship red, known for its intensity, balance, and complex flavors of dark fruit, spice, and floral notes. This wine is crafted from the steep hillside vineyard, benefiting from careful vineyard management and minimal intervention in the winery.

• Tiratore Chardonnay is another standout, offering a refined, mineral-driven expression of Chardonnay from the la collina vineyard, with bright acidity and subtle oak integration.

• Uvaggio Field Blend is a unique white blend of Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne, showcasing the winery’s Rhône varietals with a focus on texture, freshness, and aromatic complexity.

• Trelinnoe Vineyard Chardonnay is a small-production, single-vineyard wine that highlights the sandstone and limestone soils of Roys Hill, offering crisp acidity, stone fruit flavors, and a mineral backbone.

Did You Know?

The name Bilancia reflects the winery’s focus on balance and harmony, not only in the wine itself but also in the vineyard and winemaking process. The la collina vineyard was once used as a firing range, and old bullets were found during the vineyard’s establishment, inspiring the name of their Tiratore Chardonnay, which means "marksman" in Italian.