Aronui Pinot Gris 2017
We currently only ship to New Zealand.
Aronui Pinot Gris 2017
Tasting notes
A very pale gold hue in the glass, this bright and fresh fruit-driven Pinot Gris from the Upper Moutere area of Nelson displays a multi-layered nose of bright orange blossom and warm spice aromas. The concentrated fruit-driven palate exhibits quince, green melon and flavours of juicy ripe nashi pear. With touches of natural fruit sweetness and finely balanced acidity, this wine offers a generously full and luscious finish.
Winemaking
The grapes for this wine are carefully hand-harvested from our stunning Whenua Matua vineyard in Nelson, before being transported to our modern winery located in Marlborough’s Awatere Valley. The whole clusters are gently pressed without destemming - allowing us to retrieve bright, pure juice with minimal phenolic extraction from the grapes skins and seeds. After settling and racking, clear juice is fermented entirely in stainless steel tanks with a strain of yeast specifically selected for its highly aromatic properties. Fermentation was long and cool, with the ferment taking around 36 days before the perfect balance of sweetness, acidity, phenolics and alcohol was deemed to be reached, at which point the fermentation stopped by cooling.
Post-fermentation the wine was aged on yeast lees for six weeks – with regular stirring during this time to build texture, mouth-feel and complexity. The wine was blended in late June and ready for bottling near the end of July, enabling us to capture the wine’s youth and freshness.
Viticulture
The Whenua Matua vineyard is characterised by heavy clay soils on gentle rolling hills with a northerly aspect in a particularly warm and settled area of New Zealand’s South Island. The 2015/2016 growing season started with warm spring temperatures in October and November, followed by dry weather in the early flowering period. Temperatures fell mid-flowering, resulting in lower crop levels throughout the block - however some fruit thinning was conducted especially to avoid overlapping bunches (de-clumping) to improve air circulation and increase fruit exposure. Meticulous vine management from our vineyard team helped to open the canopy and even outcrop levels as well as reducing disease pressure. Warmer conditions after veraison and up to harvest aided the ripening process. Yields were disappointingly light on most areas, and varieties. However excellent flavours were present in the fruit, and good ripeness was achieved. The fruit for this wine was hand-harvested, with picking beginning on the 21st March and lasting until 7th April.
Analysis
Vintage: 2017
Alcohol: 13.5%
pH: 3.16
T/A: 6.2 g/L
R.S: 5.5 g/L