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This complex, integrated wine displays aromas ranging from floral/tropical fruit to mealy and mineral characters. The palate exhibits passionfruit, guava and tropical fruit flavours with nutty characters. Whole-bunch pressing gives the palate a gentle attack followed by a long and linear finish.
Release date: June 2001
Regions: 100% Hawke's Bay
Varieties: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
A significant change in style from most New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, this wine is modelled on the wines of the Grave region of France, exhibiting a very complex array of flavours and a soft, easy drinkability.
The pungent varietal characters of typical New Zealand Sauvignon are replaced with complex fermentation aromas and flavours, while the whole-bunch press technique has provided a soft and elegant structure which, combined with low acidity, gives the wine a gentle and user-friendly palate.This complex, integrated wine displays aromas ranging from floral/tropical fruit to mealy and mineral characters, and is noticeably lacking the typical varietal notes of Sauvignon Blanc. The palate exhibits passionfruit, guava and tropical fruit flavours with nutty characters. Characteristic of whole-bunch pressed, the palate has a gentle attack followed by a long and linear finish.
Food matching suggestions
This complex, integrated wine displays aromas ranging from floral/tropical fruit to mealy and mineral characters that marry mildly tropical guava.
Perfect with tropical fruit salads, salsa or seafood such as squid and kina, this wine also accompanies Church Road's watermelon and ginger soup and with pan-fried groper beautifully.
Recommended Cellaring
This wine has been crafted to age slowly and gracefully, and will reward careful cellaring though to 2005 or beyond.
Winemaking
Winemakers: Peter Hurlstone and Tony Prichard
Grapes were hand-harvested in late March at about 23 Brix. Whole bunches were then pressed very slowly and gently to yield soft, delicate juice for fermentation.
The juice was then settled for 36 hours without the aid of enzymes. The resultant cloudy juice was then filled to French oak barriques (mainly two-year-old) and inoculated with yeast.
A smaller proportion of the wine was encouraged to go through malolactic fermentation after sugar fermentation.
The wine was held on its yeast lees for the ten months it remained in oak, with lees stirring used to add an extra dimension of complexity and further soften the palate.
Vintage
1998 was the vintage of the decade in Hawke's Bay. Growing temperatures were 23% higher than the 30-year average and rainfall was 37% lower.
Of particular note was the extremely low rainfall over the March/April harvest period, allowing winemakers to leave the grapes on the vine to achieve optimum maturity. These conditions produced fruit with very ripe sugars and low acids essential for this style of Sauvignon Blanc.
Analysis
Alcohol: 13.0 % vol.
pH: 3.12
Total Acidity: 6.9 g/l as tartaric
