• French oak
• Pink grapefruit
• Roasted chestnuts
• Tight structure

A seductive combination of white nectarine, pink grapefruit and candied orange rind mingles with the more savoury aromas of roasted chestnuts and hot buttered brioche – an elaborate concoction infused with linseed and woodsmoke. The savouriness carries through onto a wonderfully dry palate that has great texture and concentration, with distinct flintiness, tight structure and terrific ageing potential.

The grapes for this wine are primarily the low-yielding Mendoza clone, known for its concentration of flavour and crisp acidity; the balance is Clone 95. The majority of fruit was sourced from the lower reaches of the Brancott Valley and Fairhall, grown in gravelly, clay-loam soils, with the remainder coming from Renwick and Rapaura, grown in young alluvial soils containing high proportions of New Zealand’s ubiquitous greywacke river stones. The vineyards were mostly trained using a two-cane VSP (vertical shoot positioning) trellis, with the balance on the divided Scott Henry canopy management system.

The vineyards were hand-picked separately at high ripeness levels and whole-bunch pressed using very low maceration press cycles. Some of the fruit was pressed directly to barrel, the balance was lightly settled and then racked to barrel. The juice went through a natural indigenous yeast fermentation in French oak barriques (20% new), with the final phase continuing for many months. The wine received occasional lees stirring and underwent a complete malolactic fermentation. It was transferred out of oak after 18 months and bottled in December 2019