2024 Whitehaven Marlborough Gewürztraminer
$32.00
TASTING NOTE
Colour / Appearance: Medium lemon with a bright clarity.
Aroma / Bouquet: Lifted varietal aromas of rose petal, Turkish Delight, orange blossom and a subtle spice note.
Palate: Lush palate with flavours of Turkish delight, ginger, cardamon, and ripe citrus. This medium-bodied wine has balanced sweetness with a long, cleansing finish.
Cellaring: We recommend enjoying our 2024 Gewurztraminer while it is young and fresh, but the wine can develop nicely beyond 5-7 years if carefully cellared.
Serve: Lightly chilled.
Food Match: We recommend dishes with aromatic spices and flavours, such as Moroccan, Thai or Chinese dishes.
WINE ANALYSIS
Alcohol: 14.75%
Residual Sugar: 15.2 g/L
Titratable Acidity: 4.3g/L
pH: 3.61
VITICULTURE
Harvest Date: 21 March 2024
Climate: Unlike the previous two years, the growing season leading into the 2024 vintage began after a dry winter, with the soil water balance in deficit. Fewer inflorescences generally and then a protracted flowering window in November and December, resulted in poor fruit set and fewer berries per bunch than the average in most areas. Dry conditions persisted for the duration of the growing season, minimising disease threats and resulting in clean fruit at harvest. A spell of warm weather through late December and January, in combination with the lighter crop, resulted in a rapid physiological advancement against the long term average. This trend continued until the start of harvest in early March, ahead of earlier predictions in late 2023. Fortuitously, the headwaters of the Wairau and Awatere river systems received enough rain to keep irrigation schemes open through the season and into harvest, at which point a return to cool, crisp days became the norm. Fruit was harvested at more elevated sugar levels than the previous two seasons. Peak intake for the winery was from the 13th March through to the 29th March.
Grape Growing: Fruit for this wine came from Whitehaven’s Rapaura site, and Riverstone Vineyard in the Waihopai Valley. Pruned to 2-3 cane VSP, these vines are carefully managed over the growing season with the aim of producing beautifully ripe, clean fruit come harvest time.
Winemaking: The fruit from both vineyards was hand-picked on a cool autumn morning. At the winery the grapes were destemmed and crushed before being pumped to the press. We let this must sit overnight in the press, before pressing off the following morning. The juice was then let to settle for 48 hours and then the clear juice was racked off and warmed for fermentation, using an aromatic yeast strain. The ferment was regularly tasted and then stopped when we felt the balance of the wine was right. We then let the wine sit on light lees for 3-4 months, before stabilizing and filtering. The wine was then bottled on the 14th October, 2024.
