Marlborough

Intense pear drop. honeysuckle, red apple and subtle creamy vanilla aromas produce a complex and intriguing nose. The palate is rich and round with impressive length and a sliver of sweetness. Red apple and poached pear fruit characters from the grapes combine with mealy textures and flavours derived from the lees stirring and barrel fermentation to produce an elegant, complex wine.

Spicy crab cakes, strong cheeses or cold chicken

Marcus Wright/Rebecca Wiffen

The grapes were pressed, with the free run juice settled overnight before fermentation in stainless steel tanks at cool tempertures to retain the fruit characters. Post fermentation the wine was aged on yeast lees to add texture and subtle flavours. The pressings(16.5%) were fermented in older French oak barriques and puncheons with wild and cultured yeast, this portion is rich and round and provides body, spice and mouthfeel.

The grapes for this wine come from the adjacent Barnsley and Lawson's vineyards in Marlborough's Waihopai Valley. A rigorous program of hand leaf plucking, shoot and crop thinning allowed excellent ripening of a small, intensely flavoured crop. Another perfect season allowed us to pick the fruit in perfect condition, with a wonderful array of typical Pinot Gris flavours. The Lawson's vineyard was harvested in late March, whilst the Barnsley vineyard was allowed extra "Hang Time" before harvesting in mid April with a small amount of shrival and intense flavours.

This wine will develop slowly over the next two to three years, becoming richer with honey, toast and stonefruit characters becoming more dominant.

Alcohol: 13.8 % pH: 3.60 Residual Sugar: 7.0g/L Total Acidity: 4.9g/L Brix: 23.4 - 24.2