Gladstone Vineyard Single Vineyard 340 Blanc 2019

Produced from our Home Block in Gladstone, this enticing blend is both rich and textural. Ripe pear and stonefruit, balanced by roasted cashews and hints of lemon-lime. An opulent palate that is focussed with minerality and a fine acid line.

The Wairarapa wine region, of which Gladstone is part of, is famous for its savoury and well structured Pinot Noirs that develop and age extremely well. Some of the environmental conditions for this would be seen as a problem in other regions but the Wairarapa winegrowers embrace them as they are what makes Wairarapa wines consistently great. The biggest influence from the Wairarapa we have is the wind - the prevailing wind is from the North West and can get close to gale force regularly, especially during spring and early summer. This wind during budburst and flowering naturally keep crop levels low, which maintain an intensity of flavour and texture with minimal fruit thinning required.

Other environmental conditions that make this region great are the warm and dry summers but with a large diurnal temperature variation with hot dry days but cool nights, these natural temperature rhythms stabilise colour and balanced acidity whilst allowing for long ripening of flavours in balance with sugar development in the berry. Also, due to the conditions at flowering, the berry size tends to be on the smaller size, which results in better skin to juice ratio resulting in better more intense and well-structured wines.

The Home Block vineyard is the site of the original plantings in Gladstone with the Sauvignon Blanc being over 30 years old - this vine age for Sauvignon Blanc is a rarity. The soils are alluvial in nature and are located in a sheltered area behind Tiffin hill, which provides some protection from the Northwest wind.

The vineyard has been farmed organically but at present we are taking a break from certified organics to take a more holistic approach to grape growing. The canopy is still managed with organic sprays during the season but we're now focussing on ways to balance the organic principles of soil health and biodiversity whilst also taking into consideration the carbon footprint of the vineyard. We are looking at establishing a cover crop under the vines which benefit soil health by creating a healthy environment for beneficial fungi but avoid the heavy carbon footprint of under row mowing or the practise of cultivating under row to keep competition from grasses in check.

The vineyard is planted in:

- Sauvignon Blanc, The old vine Sauvignon Blanc shows what Sauvignon Blanc vines are capable with age and deep roots, gone are the typical New Zealand Sauvignon characters and instead wines of poise, elegance and generosity show pipfruit and stonefruit but with the Natural Flinty minerality and beautiful floral prettiness that is hard to find in younger Sauvignon Blanc Vines.

- Riesling, The Meyer lemon acidity that these vines produce is outstanding and adds a mouth watering juiciness to the typical Riesling characters.

- Pinot Gris, A mix of 2 clones, these vines provide weight and texture and classic Pinot Gris characters, these vines are low vigour for pinot gris leaning towards more intense characters.

This is arguably our most ambitious winemaking project. A eld blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris & Riesling sourced from our Gladstone Vineyard Home Block, located on the estate, with the Sauvignon Blanc being apart of the original plantings from 1986. Grapes are hand-picked and transferred straight into the winery where they are pressed as whole bunches to limit exposure to oxygen and create a diverse range of flavour development showing o the unique qualities of the vintage. 100% barrel fermented and post-fermentation, homogenized and blended together for further maturation of 9 months with the addition of malolactic fermentation which will vary from vintage to vintage. The wines will then be racked out of barrel and prepared for bottling with limited fining and both coarse and sterile filtration.