2014 Whitehaven Marlborough Noble Riesling
Sold Out
TASTING NOTE
Colour / Appearance: Deep-straw to light-gold.
Aroma / Bouquet: Ripe apricot, mango and marmalade fruit flavours, with notes of beeswax and honey.
Palate: Our Noble Riesling has a dense, luscious texture, balanced by a firming acidity. The fruit and honeyed flavours are layered and persist on the rich, lengthy finish.
Cellaring: This wine will develop nicely over the next 10 years.
Food Match: Try this wine with rich, soft cheeses and sweet desserts.
Serve: Lightly chilled.
ACCOLADES
-
GOLD - Royal Easter ShowTROPHY CHAMPION SWEET WINE - Royal Easter ShowGOLD - New Zealand International Wine ShowTROPHY CHAMPION SWEET WINE - New Zealand International Wine Show
WINE ANALYSIS
Alcohol:8.3%
Residual Sugar:260
pH:3.54
VITICULTURE
Harvest Date: 6th and 21st May 2014
Climate: The season started with an early budburst due to a warm winter. A warm, dry spring and early summer resulted in ideal growing conditions and healthy yields. Mid-season rain aided plant growth and canopy vigour. Cooler weather over January was followed by a warm, dry ripening period. Late season rain provided ideal conditions for botrytis to form and concentrate the flavours during the cold, fine, late autumn days.
Vine Management: Fruit was grown on a standard two cane trellis system. Shoot thinning was carried out to ensure a healthy open canopy, and fruit thinning occurred later in the season to ensure all the fruit had ripe flavours.
VINIFICATION
Winemaking: Grapes were hand-picked with approximately 80% incidence of botrytis. At the winery it was de-stemmed and crushed to a bag press then left overnight to allow the juice to soak up flavours from the skins and botrytis. A long, slow press cycle ensured full extraction of juice and flavour from the skins. The juice was clarified naturally before inoculation with a selected yeast strain. The ferment was stopped by chilling at a stage when the luscious sweetness and acid freshness were balanced.
Winemaker: Sam Smail and Rowan Langdon.
