Andrew Blake, Anna Kingscote, Hamish Kempthorne — Marlborough, New Zealand
Tasting Notes
Pale yellow colour with green hues. The aroma is fresh and vibrant with a base of rich tropical fruit but dominated especially when young, by fresh lime and lemongrass aromas as well as a fresh herb note.
The palate shows a lovely fruit weight on the mid palate with flavours reminiscent of gooseberry and citrus and this is surrounded by a juicy, pure acidity giving the wine it’s zesty exuberance with a fresh, dry finish.
Winemaking Notes
The growing season leading up to vintage 2011 ensured the vines were in excellent health with plenty of warm weather in December with regular rain. Most vineyards were pruned to 3 canes so cropping levels were maintained at moderate levels
which was just as well considering the favourable growing conditions.
Once the 2011 vintage started it was evident the flavour of the fruit on the vines had developed very well so we could often harvest a little earlier than usual at lower sugar levels therefore producing a wine with moderate alcohol. We had very little rain during harvest and the fruit was exceptionally clean, so picking decisions were relatively straight forward. The separate
batches are fermented relatively cool using selected aromatic yeast strains.
Our 2011 blend comes from 32 separate parcels spread the length and breadth of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley. Our range of vineyards ensures a multi dimensional aroma and flavour spectrum is encapsulated in every bottle – from punchy, pungent and tropical through to elegant, crisp and green. What we believe is a true representation of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
