2024 Whitehaven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

VITICULTURE

Harvest Date: 23rd March – 12th April 2023

Grape Growing: We are proud to source the fruit for this wine exclusively from Marlborough and to be certified with Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW). A mix of company owned or managed vineyards, and contract grower vineyards, are pruned to between two and four canes on a vertical shoot positioned trellis. Shoot thinning, leaf plucking and trimming are used to achieve balanced vines, a healthy canopy and clean fruit.

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 compared to 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 13^th March through to the 29^thMarch.

VINIFICATION

Winemaking: Fruit was machine harvested and pressed immediately with minimal skin contact.  After settling, the clear juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks at 16°C – 12°C with selected yeast strains to preserve pure sub regional characters and varietal flavours.  Wines sat on light yeast lees in tank for approximately 2 months prior to blending in July 24. The wine has been heat and cold stabilised, and sterile filtered at bottling.

ACCOLADES

• The 2023 Whitehaven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc recently featured on Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines list, coming in at #41. It is one of only four New Zealand wines to make the list, and the only Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Due to the popularity of the 2023 vintage, we expect the 2024 vintage to sell out just as quickly.