Wine is like perfume. It’s an aromatic compound and that’s why the best winemakers have a great sense of smell which is supported by a great palate.

The Harvest

In Central Otago the cool climate means the grapes ripen later than in more northen areas. Usually full ripeness is achieved from the last days of March through into mid April.  Harvest time is determined by technical analysis of grape samples and taste testing through the vineyards with our winemakers. 
All of our grapes are harvested by hand.  This allows the pickers to select the best fruit, removing any bird damaged or unripe grapes before delivery to the winery.

The Alchemy

Working with small batches we follow a minimalist and gentle approach to winemaking. In some batches we ferment a small percentage of the grapes as whole bunches to retain some of the bright fruit aromas and flavours. The rest of the grapes are destemmed, and a small percentage of this fraction lightly crushed before going to tank. After a few days of pre-fermentation cool maceration to assist colour and tannin extraction we ferment the grape must at temperatures of up to 31oC, and hand plunge up to four times a day. The variations in taste and textures we achieve are further enhanced by the use of a range of new and older French oak barrels for aging the wine.

Cooperage

All of our barrels are sourced from French cooperages in the Central Region of France. We use between 30 and 40 % new barrels each year. The exact percentage is dependent on the house style requirements and the grapes in each vintage. Our barrel programme includes barrels from the cooperages of Cadus, Remond, Saury, Mercurey, and Dargaud & Jaegle (D&J).



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