While mother-nature may not have been our friend in many ways this year, there is no denying that she gave us near perfect conditions in our vineyards. While, with the exception of December, it was another dry year in Marlborough, it was not exceptionally hot, which allowed the fruit mature well without any undue stress on the vines. The dry weather was also a godsend for our vineyard team, with little disease pressure to worry about after Christmas. Canopy work was undertaken to ensure the bunches received optimum levels of exposure to allow full flavour development, with the resulting fruit proving concentrated and complex. The harvest, while challenging due to the conditions brought about by the COVID19 pandemic, actually took place in near-perfect weather, with sunny days and cool nights, and plenty of time to pick the fruit at the perfect maturity.
Defined New Zealand's wine and established the Marlborough wine region globally.
The 2020 harvest was completed under the unprecedented conditions of a New Zealand-wide lock-down due to the Coronavirus pandemic. With wineries classified as an essential industry, we were able to bring in this exceptional harvest, while adhering at all times to the strict rules provided by the government regarding social distancing and hygiene. We are incredibly proud of the way in which our staff worked during this challenging time, and wish to take this moment to thank them.
Following the harvest, the free-run juice was cold settled, before racking and inoculation with selected yeast. Fermentation was carried out primarily in stainless steel tanks, with approximately 4% of the blend fermented at warmer temperatures in old French oak barriques and large format oak vats. As usual, our Sauvignon Blanc was blended stringently from 91 different portions to include only the best. The final blend shows an alcohol of 13.2% pH 3.11 TA 7.15g/L RS 2.4g/L