VITICULTURE Selected from some of Hawke's Bay's finest vineyards, this sparkling wine was partially fermented in French oak barrels for 15 months for complexity of character. Central to the success of New Zealand as a world-renowned wine growing region is the temperate maritime climate and the freedraining alluvial soils. Cool nights and warm days retain acidity which lends freshness and vibrancy to the wines, highly characteristic of New Zealand wine styles. 

WINEMAKING Pinot Gris was picked from the Mission homeblock and very gently pressed. The juice was inoculated with specially developed, aromatic yeast strains to intensify varietal character development. A portion was fermented in French oak barrel for 15 months for complexity. After blending the cuvée, the wine underwent a secondary fermentation before bottling. 

TASTING NOTES - Zesty with delicate pear and apple and fine mousse. Grown on our historic vineyard, this sparkling wine was partially fermented in French oak barrels for 15 months for complexity of character. Aromas of delicate pear and apple with a zesty palate showing lemon, lime and nutty notes. 

CELLAR POTENTIAL Enjoy now or in the next one to two years. 

WINE ANALYSIS Alcohol 12.5% pH 3.25 Acidity 6.5 g/L Residual Sugar <9 g/L

Tasting notes
Pale golden in colour with a fine perlage. Aromas of toasted oats, rock melon and nuances of tropical fruits leading to a warm honeycomb finish in the glass. On the palate the yeast autolytic evolution unfolds with the fine acid backbone to reveal a complex mineral finish. Extra Brut in style, this very dry Methode Traditionelle is best enjoyed as an aperitif or to accompany an Entree course. 

Viticulture
Clone UCD6 Chardonnay
Hand harvested as whole bunches from the Lower Wairau plains of Marlborough.
Picked on the 18 of March 2020 at 17.5 Brix, 13g/L Titratable Acidity, PH 2.9.

Winemaking
Whole bunch pressed to extract no more than 580L/tonne.
Inoculated with a yeast isolate from Champagne.
Fermented and aged in both Stainless steel vats and Oak Barriques.
Full Malolactic fermentation.
The base wine is assembled and tirage bottled 8 months from harvest.

Technical Summary
Sur lee bottle aging Minimum 36 months (refer to back label)
Dosage 2.0g/L
Alcohol 12.0 %

Tasting notes
Light yellow gold in colour with a fine persistent bead. Aromas of white peach, lemon citrus and crisp green apple. Notes of baked bread and ginger spice on the nose with a subtle nutty character. On the palate a crisp acidity is balanced with creamy textures held up by a concentrated long finish. Extra Brut in style, this very dry Methode Traditionelle is best enjoyed as an aperitif or to accompany an Entree course.

Viticulture
Clone 95 Chardonnay
Hand harvested as whole bunches from the Korokipo region of the Hawke’s Bay
Picked on the 6th of March 2019 at 18.6 Brix, 11.0g/L Titratable Acidity, PH 3.16.

Winemaking
Whole bunch pressed to extract no more than 580L/tonne.
Inoculated with a yeast isolate from Champagne.
Fermented and aged in both Stainless steel vats and Oak Barriques.
Full Malolactic fermentation. The base wine is assembled and tirage bottled 8 months from harvest.

Technical Summary
Sur lee bottle aging Minimum 36 months (refer to back label)
Dosage 3.0g/L
Alcohol 12.0 %

The vineyards selected for this wine are Huia Rapaura vineyard and Rose family Kennedy vineyard. 

The grapes were hand-harvested, whole bunch pressed. Juice was racked off to barrels for fermentation  where a warm, fast ferment was encouraged. Base wine underwent full malolactic fermentation. Aged on gross lees in neutral French oak for 14 months. Wine is put on tirage where yeast and sugar is added before bottling. Second fermentation occurred in bottle and the  wine aged on lees for a further 20 months. Hand riddled over 5 weeks and disgorged on 6th December 2021. 

Senses 

Sight: cured salmon pink. 

Smell: Strawberries, cherries and baked bread. 

Taste: Fresh, wild strawberries and strawberry shortcake with a crisp finish. 

Food Matches: Goats cheese platters. Saffron risotto. Proper Crisps with Marlborogh Seasalt

Bold, bright, fruit salad in a glass; that's what sparkling Sauvignon Blanc is all about and it's a lively, lovely fresh new spring white. The bubbles in this wine come from tank fermentation to preserve the naturally fresh fruit flavours of this vibrant wine. 

THE DRINKING
With hand-picked Chardonnay grapes in late summer, this Blanc de Blancs is a rustic and unfussy wine with a foamy mousse and biscuit and freshly baked bread aromas. It’s refreshing, fruity and perky on the palate with layers of pear, cherry and orange zest. To be enjoyed during the summer months, well chilled to quell that dissolved CO2. Unfiltered and unfined, this is a charming lo-fi natural wine.

THE GROWING
We will always remember 2021 as the perfect vintage for our dry farmed vines; as though I had direct dial to Hughie the weather god, we were blessed with decent dollops of rain at the optimum times during the growing season, much appreciated as our vines were recovering from the drought conditions of 2020. The one brix a week rule book was thrown out the window in 2021 and we had to be on our toes, ready to pick at a moment's notice, as the brix (sugar levels) were rising on a daily basis.

THE MAKING
Hand-picked single clone 95 Chardonnay grapes from our 'Puriri' block were whole bunch pressed and the juice put into a stainless-steel tank where it was cold settled for 24 hours then racked into its fermentation tank. No yeast or additions were made, apart from some organic yeast nutrient, to help to complete the wild ferment. The decision when to bottle is always a challenging one, too much unfermented sugars and you have a too fizzy bottle rocket in your hands, too little sugars and you have all sausage without the sizzle. Much like the picking decision, I had to base my bottling decision on experience, taste and sugar levels. The ferment tank was chilled down to 2 degrees C for 48 hours then lifted onto my trailer, driven back to our vineyard and gravity bottled at Zeelandt Brewery by the same crew who picked the grapes.

TECHNICAL NOTES
PICKING DATE: 4 March 2021
pH: 3.38
ACIDITY: 5.47
RS: 1.34
BOTTLING: 7 April 2021
F(SO2): 8.8T
(SO2): 24