Winemaking

The fruit for this wine was all hand-harvested before being very gently pressed once at the winery – ensuring minimal phenolic extraction from the skins and seeds. Once pressed the juice was left to settle before being racked and inoculated with yeasts specifically selected for production of aromatics. The carefully controlled fermentation was carried out in stainless steel tanks before being stopped with cooling when the right balance of flavour, acidity and sweetness had been reached. Once finished the wine was left to lightly settle before being racked and left to age on yeast lees – allowing the added complexity to develop. The wine was then stabilised and bottled; without the need for any fining, in mid-October.

Viticulture

The grapes for this wine are sourced from the Apple Valley Road Vineyard in the Moutere Hills sub-region of Nelson. This stunning vineyard is characterised by sandy loam soils overlying heavier clay on north facing hills - which slope gently down towards the Waimea Inlet.  The prevailing light northerly winds that blow off the tidal inlet provide the vineyard with temperature moderation and ventilation throughout the growing season. The 2014/2015 growing season began with cool and damp conditions over flowering - resulting in a much lighter fruit-set than expected. Dry conditions from January assisted in fruit ripening, despite high disease pressure caused by mild night temperatures and high dew fall later in the season. Meticulous canopy management from our vineyard team in the late season ensured a small but excellent harvest arrived at the winery in early April.

Analysis

Vintage: 2015

Alcohol: 14%

pH: 3.23

T/A: 4.7 g/L

R.S: 5 g/L