Bilancia

In ’97, 7 years after meeting at Roseworthy College, winemakers Lorraine Leheny and Warren Gibson established their Hawke’s Bay-based label, Bilancia (pronounced be-larn-cha), named for the Italian word for balance, harmony and equilibrium, as well as their shared star sign, Libra. Outside of the white Rhône blend, Uvaggio, their focus is on syrah and chardonnay, sourced from a handful of exceptional sites within the region, including the Trelinnoe, Kaikora and Two Terraces vineyards, and their estate vineyard, la collina (Italian for ‘the hill’). Planted in ’98 on a steep, north-facing slope on Roy’s Hill, overlooking the famed Gimblett Gravels subregion, the syrah off this 6ha site is widely considered one of New Zealand’s best red wines. -ANNA WEBSTER