2016 Whitehaven Hidden Barrel Sauvignon Blanc
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TASTING NOTE
Colour / Appearance: Mid-straw/deep lemon hue, with a bright clarity
Aroma / Bouquet: Ripe stone fruit, grapefruit, gunflint, wet stone notes and chamomile tea.
Palate: A full-bodied wine with crisp, clean acidity, a silky texture with riper fruit and gunflint flavours. The wine has a long persistent finish.
Cellaring: We recommend drinking our 2016 Hidden Barrel Sauvignon Blanc in the first 3 to 5 years after the vintage, but the wine has the structure and closure to allow continued development with careful cellaring.
Food Match: A food friendly wine, matched with dishes like barbecued pork and chicken, or simply with fresh shellfish.
Serve: Lightly chilled.
WINE ANALYSIS
Alcohol: 13.5
Residual Sugar: 2.4
Titratable Acidity: 6.8
pH: 3.14
VITICULTURE
Harvest Date: 6th and 21st May 2014
Climate: Conditions were very dry early in the season, with average temperatures, clear skies and a high risk of frost. Warm conditions over flowering in mid-December resulted in good yields. Decent rain in early and mid-January, allowed for healthy canopies and vigorous growth. February was hot and dry, followed by warm, dry March; perfect weather for intense flavour development.
Vine Management: Vines are trained to two or three canes on a vertical trellis. Balanced pruning, shoot thinning, tucking and trimming are used to achieve an open, healthy canopy and clean fruit.
VINIFICATION
Winemaking: The fruit was hand-picked and crushed by foot. After pressing the juice had minimal additions, a coarse settling, and racked. A wild fermentation started after 1-2 days and the juice was transferred to old, French oak puncheons. The fermentation finished quickly, due to a high temperature. The wine was then allowed to age for 5 months on the yeast lees with minimal stirring and no malolactic fermentation. The wine was filtered before bottling, but had no fining.
Winemaker: Sam Smail.
ACCOLADES
- 2017 Bob Campbell 92/100
- 'A gorgeous alternative-style, this barrel-fermented sauvignon exhibits impressive aromas of grapefruit, white nectarine, gunflint and lemon grass with nuances of oatmeal and almond. The palate is concentrated and beautifully weighted with rounded mouthfeel and fine texture, wonderfully structured by firm acidity. Mouth-filling and engaging. At its best: now to 2020.' 2017 Sam Kim 94/100
- 2016 Raymond Chan 18/20
