Bilancia
bi’lancia Italian. (be-larn-cha) balance, harmony and equilibrium; the scales, of the zodiac (libra).
Bilancia is a small Hawke's Bay producer of exceptional Chardonnay, Viognier/Marsanne/Roussanne and Syrah. Lorraine Leheny and Warren Gibson have been making fine Hawke's Bay wine since 1997. The first wines were released in 1998 and the first la collina Syrah, from the 2002 vintage, was released in 2004.
All fruit is sourced from Hawke's Bay vineyards: Syrah from la collina and Roys Hill, Chardonnay from la collina (Tiratore), Roys Hill and Otane (Central Hawke's Bay).
"You have to visit Hawke’s Bay on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island to realise just how special Bilancia’s La Collina is."
Jancis Robinson
21 April 2023
Reviews
95 points
"The 2021 Tiratore Chardonnay is powerful and concentrated, but it is also superbly balanced. This is rich and dense and undulates over the palate with salt and richness ... kaleidoscopic, really. There's curry leaf, yellow peach, saffron, grapefruit, preserved citrus rind and even a hint of warm sourdough crust. It's a ripper of a wine. There's a really long draw of flavour across the palate."
Erin Larkin
November 2023
2023 Kaikora Vineyard Chardonnay
94 points
“Bilancia are one of the greatest of all NZ producers. They bloody get it, is my main comment.
Charismatic and very distinct in personality. I like this very much. Top shelf. Kind of dirty but in the nicest possible way. Yum.”
Gary Walsh
10 July, 2025
"The La Collina Syrah is without a doubt, New Zealand's greatest Syrah, and it is a gift to the wine world. If it is new to you, make it not so. It ages with grace and ease and will only repay careful cellaring with years of joy in the future. Go slow and gentle."
2024 la collina Syrah
98+ points
"This is the first wine released since 2021. The 2024 la collina is 100% whole-bunch fruit, which is dependent on the year, but this 2024 season was well suited to it. Aromatically, there's raw cocoa, fresh blood, pomegranite molasses, star anise, freshly mowed fennel, crushed rocks, licorice, lavender, raspberry and black tea, with pastrami and hung deli meat lace the edges. On the medium bodied palate, the wine is shaped by ductile chalky tannins, which serve to enhance the perception of fruit and spice, and these tannins drag out the flavour through the long finish. This is a spectcular wine. It's truly great, and not just in a Hawke's Bay context, not merely a New Zealand context, but truly great in a global Syrah context. This is a superb example. I love it.
This terraced place is as beautiful as it tastes in the glass , which brings forth rose petals, ashphalt, petrichlor, a crack of minerality and ozone. And the wine will only get better as it gains bottle age."
Erin Larkin
17 March, 2025
This wine will be released in November 2025. Please contact us to be notified when it is released.
2022 Trelinnoe Vineyard Chardonnay
96 points 
"A superb bottle of Chardonnay that
would give many grand cru Burgundies a run for their money with mineral, flint, light nougat, lemon rind and chlaky-like undertones on the nose that follow through to a medium and focused palate witha mineral and dried lemon character. Lovely fresh length at the end ."
James Suckling
November 2, 2023
96+ points
"On the nose, this is saturated with raspberry
coulis and red liquorice, pink peppercorns, graphite and black tea, rose petals and blood. It smells sumptuous and looks vibrant and almost light. I'm thinking supple. Yes. Uber fine, with a chalky, silky flow. this is a delicious wine. It's exactly what you'd hope for in medium-weight Syrah. It's perfectly ripe without a hint of anything over that. This is gorgeous wine. Seamless. Almost three years in barrel, with none new. the future is so bright here."
Erin Larkin
28 November 2023
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