Greywacke, Marlborough Pinot Gris

The fruit was grown in three vineyards, two in the central Wairau Plains and one in the upper Omaka Valley. Near Renwick, the River Block is planted with clones 52 and 53 and the Restaurant Block contains plots of clone 457 and Lincoln Berry Smith, both of which are on young alluvial soils containing high proportions of greywacke river stones. In the upper Omaka, Falveys vineyard is planted to clone GM2-15 and is grown on gravelly, clay-loam soils. All vines are trained on a two-cane VSP (vertical shoot positioning) trellis.

A relatively dry winter was followed by unsettled spring conditions, including isolated frosts. Minimal damage was sustained, but the intermittent cold nights continued well into spring, disrupting flowering and causing low berry numbers and millerandage (uneven berry size) in some varieties. As summer progressed, El Niño brought its signature warm, dry conditions. Extremely low rainfall was recorded throughout the summer, to the point of a drought being declared in mid-March. Bunch numbers were low across the region from the outset and the hot, dry summer condensed berry size, so reduced yields were inevitable. Fortunately the loose bunches reduced disease risk and resulted in immaculately clean, ripe fruit. Sauvignon Blanc ripeness levels were excellent across all sites. Cooler nights in February stretched out the ripening and led to wonderfully crisp acidity. 2024 saw pristine fruit with generous depth of flavour.

Hand-picking commenced in Restaurant Block on 15th March, concluding with Falveys on 4th April. The fruit was harvested at high ripeness levels and whole-bunch pressed using low maceration press cycles. The resulting juice was cold-settled, then racked to fermentation vessels. Most of the juice went through an indigenous yeast fermentation in old French oak barriques and the balance was fermented in stainless steel using cultured yeast. Towards the end of fermentation all the wine was transferred to stainless steel tanks, where fermentation was stopped, retaining 9.2 g/l residual sugar. Once blended, the wine was returned to old barrels, where it remained on yeast lees for a further six months.