Wither Hills Early Light Sauvignon 2021

Fruit for our Early Light range of wines is harvested early to capture optimum flavour ripeness whilst reducing the levels of naturally occurring sugar. This lower level of sugar means less alcohol is converted resulting in a lighter in alcohol style of wine. Showcasing tropical guava and mandarin on the nose with zingy lime citrus on the palate. A refreshingly light yet flavourful sensation at 9.5% alc/vol.

Strategically situated sites around Marlborough featuring alluvial gravels, fertile silt loam, clay and pea gravels maximising soil diversity and therefore flavour and profile diversity. Niche style pockets from sites like Rarangi.

Vintage 2021 was similar to vintage 2020 in that we had a beautiful warm summer with lower the usual rainfall. The season started cold with 10 frost events where the temperature dipped below 0°C. Budburst and flowering both came early this season and we saw this across all varieties. A cool period around flowering had a big effect on flowering numbers and hence we recorded one of our lightest vintages for some years. The early season trend continued right through to picking, where we harvested the first of our fruit on the 22nd Feb 2021. (2nd earliest ever) The good weather and low yields meant more open bunch structure and lower disease pressure which was great. Ripening at harvest was slower than usual despite the lower yields, this was mainly due to the cooler weather during harvest following the warm summer. Low yields, great weather and slow ripening resulted into excellent fruit flavours and great intensity. Another stunning Marlborough vintage.

Fruit for our Early Light range of wines is harvested early to capture optimum flavour ripeness whilst reducing the levels of naturally occurring sugar. This lower level of sugar means less alcohol is converted resulting in a lighter in alcohol style of wine.

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