"Bright, light straw-yellow colour, pale on the rim.  The nose is elegantly presented with very good depth and intensity of white stonefruits and white florals, and a suggestion of nuts and an amalgam of herbs and minerals.  Dry to taste, the palate has richness and intensity with a firm core with concentrated flavours of white stonefruits entwined with nutty notes, herbs and minerals.  The mouthfeel is crisp and thirst-quenchingly dry with brisk acidity, and the wine carries along a fine-textured line of fruit extract and phenolics, leading to a light, clean, nuanced finish.  This is a very dry, mouthwatering Arneis with very good depth and concentration of white stonefruit, herb and mineral flavours,  Match with seafood over the next 2-3 years.  Fruit from the ‘Gibson’s Creek’ vineyard, cool-fermented in tank to 11.0% alc. and 1.1 g/L RS, the wine aged on lees" Raymond Chan, Oct 2017

"This wine is testament to Marlborough winemaker John Forrest’s ongoing commitment to diversity; it is youthful in all ways right now, and will no doubt develop along the lines of the complex range of flavours that we found present:; lemon zest, nectarine, hazelnut and brie; it has a nicely handled grip on the finish, which adds interest in the mouth. A lovely newcomer to the New Zealand vineyard; in the country’s biggest wine region, to boot. Great to see a Marlborough winemaker champion diversity in this way." TiZWine.com, May 2015

This wine is a bouquet of summer memories; nashi pear, lemon blossom and elderflower cordial. The palate hints at sweet basil and thyme with citrus notes and a lingering dry finish. A wine with elegance and finesse that is the perfect accompaniment for your long Italian lunch.

This northern Piedmonte, Italian grape varietal pronounced “Ar-nays” appears right at home in cool climate New Zealand. We have planted our Arneis on a stony section of the Gibson’s Creek vineyard, right in the centre of the Wairau river valley – classic free draining silty, stony terroir hoping to give the wine its signature “wet stone” minerality. The variety is moderately vigorous and needed careful tending, crop thinning, leaf pluck and trimming to maintain vine balance. We hand harvested mid-April, similar to Sauvignon Blanc, at 20-24 Brix, ripe fruit, 6 ton/Ha, free of Botrytis with good acidity and an intense aromatic flavour profile.

Vintage 2013 reminded me very much of vintage 2011 – a mild temperate summer with regular small amounts of rain which resulted in healthy vines with active green leaves through to a slightly (5-7 days) earlier harvest. Unlike 2011, however, crop levels were not excessive, coming in exactly on estimate 6-10 tonne/ha, depending on varietal. This was due to the relatively low per vine bunch number, determined by poor flowering conditions in the previous 2012 vintage which counter-balanced the higher berry number per bunch and individual berry size due to ideal growth conditions. So, overall a very good quality vintage, viticulturally straight forward, with ideal conditions, weather wise over the 3 week harvest period.