Nose
A soft elegant wine on the nose, with sophisticated complexity. As with a good Vouvray
the primary aromas offer nashi pear skins, quince and a touch of lemon curd. There is a little nougat
and lanolin on the front end, yet this does not dominate the brightness, instead a wonderful floral
lift adds a layer of freshness. The savoury oak sits elegantly in the background adding a touch of
gun smoke and almond meal.
Palate
R This wine is a great interpretation of a dry Vouvray. It’s decadent, luxurious and elegant.
It’s all about texture, mouth feel and trying to separate the many layers of flavour. The pear and pear
skin is an obvious primary flavour on the palate, the oak adds hints of toffee apple and cinnamon
and both these compliment the sclereid derived texture, a result of the extended skin contact.
Pistachio nuts and savoury notes coupled with the lanolin reveal themselves as the next level and the
rich oily texture sits wonderfully and gracefully in the background giving way to a great weight and
length dominated with graphite like minerality. The chalky texture is a thing of beauty.
Growing Conditions
Selected rows and individual bunches of Chenin Blanc were hand harvested from the Western end
of the vineyard. These bunches tended to be on the outer part of the vines where the fruit had a little
more sun exposure. As with all our fruit the vines are grown with strict organic principles in mind,
in other words we do not use toxic chemicals on the estate and we maintain healthy soils using
microbiological strategies. The purity in the fruit is expressed in the quality and flavour of the final
product. The fruit is placed into a cool room to rest and stabilise over night.
Winemaking
The following morning the fruit was hand sorted in the winery. A select number of “special” bunches
are removed and returned to cool storage. These bunches will eventually be returned to the
fermenting wine in the barrel. The balance of the fruit is pressed straight into a mixture of new
French Oak Puncheons and 1 - 2 year old French Barriques. Without disclosing the exact
method the fruit put aside were placed into the oak for extra skin contact during fermentation and
maturation. This gives us that very special rich decadent mouth feel and adds depth and complexity
to the wine. The juice is allowed to ferment naturally in barrel and matures on lees and skins for 10
months before assemblage and preparation for bottling. No fining agents and minimal filtration.
Appearance
Bright clarity, light straw.
