A stunning cool climate expression of New Zealand’s most famous grape, our Sauvignon Blanc is named “The Starlet” because of her international popular appeal. She’s also fresh and fruity and best enjoyed young.
2023 Vintage
“Surprising aromas of liquorice and fennel, the palate unfolds with a refreshing burst of lemon and lime with notes of cinnamon and walnut giving a delightfully unique experience”. Olly Masters (Winemaker)
Vintage Notes
Overall, it was an excellent season in Central Otago with warm temperatures and very little rainfall. Early in the season, cool and cloudy weather impacted flowering which had us concerned about the subsequent fruit set but it wasn’t an issue. The warm and settled conditions throughout the season enabled excellent canopy growth. There was much less impact from the usual spring winds and we had some well-timed rain at the end of the season. All these factors resulted in above average berry weights with bunch numbers also high from the previous season’s ideal conditions. This resulted in a record total crop, and whilst positive, the conditions did require an extra level of vineyard management with multiple row passes to ensure quality was maintained. This Sauvignon Blanc was hand-picked at 6.1 T/ha and Growing Degree Days (GDDs) were 1167.
Food Match
Sauvignon Blanc is a refreshing dry white wine with our textural style displaying more intense tropical fruit flavours. It’s a wine that can be savoured on its own or enjoyed with food where it’s particularly suited to fresh and grilled seafood, ideal with most appetisers and a perfect match to salads, vegetable dishes or white meats. The best cheese pairings include goat, feta or sharp cheddars.
Details
| Region | Central Otago, New Zealand | Vineyard | Estate-grown, single vineyard |
| Sub-region | Bendigo – Single vineyard | Variety/ Clones | MS |
| Planting | 2005, Altitude: 240 – 280m | Harvested | 3rd & 4th April 2023 |
| Harvest Analysis | Brix: 23.6-24.5 / pH: 2.95-3.07 / TA: 9.1-10.3 g/l | Bottled | 24 August 2023 (Stelvin closure) |
| Wine Analysis | Alc:14% / pH: 3.09 / TA: 7.6 g/l | Cellaring | 1 – 5+ years |
Winemaking
After a few initial hours of gentle skin contact, the hand-picked fruit was whole bunch pressed to tank for settling. The majority (64%) of the free run and some pressings juice were then racked, inoculated and cool fermented to dryness in stainless steel to retain varietal purity. The remaining portion was wild fermented in mostly older French oak barrels. A small proportion of juice (3%) was taken to a single new oak barrel from the tank ferment then returned when dry to give another level of complexity. All these techniques add more texture and complex mineral/flint characters to the wine.
