Marlborough

The nose is an intense mix of fruit characters. Passionfruit. lemon, gooseberry and melon, with lifted floral and blossom aromas complemented by notes of lime and red capsicum(bell pepper). The palate has a crisp acid backbone and wonderful length, citrus and passionfruit are dominate, with the barrique ferment component adding complexity and texture.

Fresh, pan fried fish.

Marcus Wright / Rebecca Wiffen.

Fermentation was predominantly in stainless steel tanks with selected yeasts to enhance the aromatic qualities of the wine. A small portion(7%) was fermented in seasoned French oak barriques to add richness and depth to the palate. Each batch was kept separately through the fermentation process and only those batches of sufficient quality were blended to produce the finished wine.

The grapes for this wine were sourced from seven vineyards, all within Marlborough's Wairau and Waihopai valleys, and represent a broad cross section of soil types and micro climates, providing us with a diverse range of aromas, flavours and textures. The stoney Rapaura vineyard brings tropical fruit and perfumed aromatics to the blend. Our Alabama Road vineyard, which is on heavier clay soils, produces grapes with lifted passionfruit aromas and great weight. Our own Chaytors Road vineyard is influeced by the ocean and has free draining soils, which produces ripe citrus and tropical fruit charcters with attractive herbal notes. A third of the blend comes from the Waihopai Vallay, where gravel and clay soils, combined with hot summer days and cool nights produce fruit with concentrated lemon, lime and passionfruit flavours.

This wine will develop well in the bottle over the next three to four years. The dominant fresh fruit characters will mellow and the wine will take on added complexity and rich secondary characters.

Alcohol: 13.5 % pH: 3.2 Residual Sugar: 2.6g/L Total Acidity: 7.5g/L Brix: 21.4 - 23