2023 Whitehaven Marlborough Pinot Noir Rosé
$25.00
TASTING NOTE
Colour / Appearance: Pale salmon-pink colour.
Aroma / Bouquet: Fresh and vibrant with Summer berry, floral aromas and gentle spicy notes.
Palate: Light to medium bodied, this wine bursts with pure, juicy Summer fruit flavours of strawberry, raspberry and watermelon. There is a touch of spice in support. The wine is deliciously fresh and flavoursome, and has a dry, persistent finish.
Cellaring: Although delicious to drink now, this wine should age gracefully for another 2-3 years if cellared carefully. Serve lightly chilled.
Food Match: This is a dry Rosé suited to pairing with food. Try serving with smoked fish, pâtés, or fresh green salads.
Serve: Lightly chilled.
WINE ANALYSIS
Alcohol: 12.7%
Residual Sugar: 1.1 g/L
Titratable Acidity: 6.6 g/L
pH: 3.29
VITICULTURE
Grape Growing: This Pinot Noir Rosé is sourced from two estate grown vineyards - 23% from Pauls Road (Rapaura) and 77% from Little Alfred (Southern Valleys). The vines were trained to a mixture of 2 cane and spur pruned vertical shoot position design. Throughout the growing season the vines were thoughtfully managed, with open canopies and prudent crop thinning helping to create fully ripe, clean fruit come harvest time.
Climate: Similar to the previous season, the 2023 growing season started with soil moisture at capacity following a wet winter. Flowering conditions in November and December were not even across Marlborough with some sub-regions achieving a good set and crop load and others below average set. Vigilance around disease pressure was paramount, with regular rain events through the season and unusual humidity and warm nights through much of December and January. Day time temperatures were not warm, delaying the vine’s physiological advancement. Marlborough breathed a sigh of relief as cyclone Gabrielle minimally impacted the region in February, while wreaking havoc through much of the North Island. The season turned a corner for Marlborough in early March with a return to cool nights and sunnier conditions allowing us to delay harvest for as long as possible, resulting in fruit that reached good sugar levels with attractive flavours, while disease levels remained low and manageable. Fruit condition remained very good through until the end of harvest.
Harvest Date: Multiple pick dates from the 14thof of March to 1st of April 2023
VINIFICATION
Winemaking: The fruit was machine-harvested, destemmed, and pressed at the winery to ensure the desired level of colour and flavour extraction. Using only the early ‘free run’ juice, fermentation was at cool temperatures with selected yeast to create a wine with pure fruit flavours and freshness.
ACCOLADES
- 2024 Sakura Japan Women’s Wine Awards, Gold.
