2023 Whitehaven Single Vineyard Series 'Block 11' Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc
$35.00
TASTING NOTE
Whitehaven’s single vineyard range of wines speak to the importance of terroir in creating unique, premium quality wines, and allow us to showcase outstanding, smaller parcels of fruit identified by our winemakers each vintage. Reflecting the exclusive nature of these wines, each bottle is individually numbered.
We have used a lightweight bottle to lessen this wine’s impact on the environment.
Colour / Appearance: Mid straw yellow with bright clarity.
Aroma / Bouquet: Stonefruit, citrus, herbs, and florals with a background of oak and malolactic ferment derived creaminess.
Palate: Medium bodied and textural with enticing flavours of peach, melon, lemon and dried herbs. The oak influence envelopes the palate with pleasing mouthfeel and texture.
Cellaring: We expect the wine will drink at its optimum in the immediate 5-7 years following Spring 2024. However, the wine has the structure and closure to allow continued development with careful cellaring.
Food Match: Delicious with lemon and herb chicken, goats’ cheeses and smoked or grilled seafood dishes.
Serve: Lightly chilled.
WINE ANALYSIS
Alcohol: 13.5
Residual Sugar: 1.9g/L
Titratable Acidity: 6.4 g/L
pH: 3.23
VITICULTURE
Harvest Date: 4th April 2023.
Grape Growing: The fruit for this wine came exclusively from a corner of Block 11, a 5.63hectare site at Whitehaven's Pauls Road vineyard in the Rapaura District. The block adjoins the winery and borders the Wairua River, with a free draining, stony silt loam profile. Throughout the growing season the vines were thoughtfully managed by Corinne Turkington (Vineyard Manager), with open canopies and prudent crop thinning helping go create ripe, clean fruit while retaining freshness come harvest time. Fruit was hand-picked at 22.5 Brix.
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. Peak time for intake was the two weeks starting from the 27th March and fruit condition remained very good through until the end of harvest.
VINIFICATION
Winemaking: Fruit was hand harvested and whole bunch pressed to retain purity and precision in the juice. Cloudy juice was then run to old French oak puncheons for spontaneous and warm fermentation, in an effort to draw out greater interest and complexity in the wine and build in a more Savoury fruit profile suited to this style of wine. Over 80% of the wine naturally went through malolactic fermentation producing the softer, creamy lactic acid, aiding mouthfeel.
ACCOLADES
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This wine was selected for the 2024 AMW Annual Collection, a representation of the highest calibre of Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough’s 2024 harvest, and the only alternative style of Sauvignon Blanc to be selected.
