ALCOHOL: 12.5%

GRAPE: Pinot Noir

REGION: Marlborough
VINTAGE: 2020

VINTAGE CONDITIONS: Despite the very dry conditions in 2020, vines fared far better than the summer of 2019, when a similarly low amount of rain fell in January and February. This season was drier for longer than the previous year, with just 43mm of rain between December 21 and April 21, compared to 185mm in a normal year – do we have those anymore? March with slightly cooler than average, but with warmer days and cool nights and almost no rainfall the growing season with slightly longer, and the temperature was cooler

toward the end, which meant fruit had a fuller flavour. Good

news for grape growers, because it allowed fruit to ripen in ideal

conditions without any disease pressure from botrytis bunch rot.

Unlike 2019, the lower night temperatures of the 2020 vintage

helped to retain acids – these cool autumn nights are part of the

magic of a vintage in Marlborough (unless you’re on nightshift!).

WINEMAKING: Fruit for the 2020 Signature Pinot Noir Rosé was sourced from one of our contract growers, the Holdaway Family vineyard in Dillons Point. The fruit was machine harvested then pressed following a standard white grape press program. The cloudy juice was cold settled over approximately 48 hours. The clear juice was then racked, warmed and inoculated with a vigorous, aromatic yeast and fermented in tank at 12° to 13°C for 20 days. After fermen-

tation the wine was chilled and racked off fermentation lees after

2 weeks to retain fruit and freshness. The wine was stabilised

without extra fining additions before final crossflow filtration to

prepare for bottling.

ALCOHOL: 12.5%

GRAPE: Sauvignon Blanc

REGION: Blind River & Awatere sub-regions of Marlborough

WINEMAKING: The winemaking process is all about retaining the fruit purity from vineyard to wine. The fruit is machine harvested then pressed, floated or cold settled to clarify and an aromatic yeast added. Fermentation was temperature controlled at around 12°C in insulated stainless steel tanks taking approximately 2 weeks to complete. After fermentation the wine is held for a short period of time cold in full tanks on yeast lees. Racking off yeast lees and blending decisions are completed in June with the blends being put together, stabilized and filtered in preparation for dispatch/bottling from late July.

VINTAGE: 2020 had beautiful growing conditions with a long dry season, with just 43mm of rain between December 21 and April 21, compared to 185mm in a normal year. The vintage was slightly cooler towards the end, resulting in a slightly longer hang time. With harvest slightly later, you can develop maximum flavor in your grapes. Berry size in 2020 was a lot smaller than average, due to the dry weather during January and February, and running into March.