Blank Canvas McKee Vineyard Marlborough Grüner Veltliner 2023

Description

Dry, Oak, Spice

Full-bodied richness, brilliant orange citrus, white pepper aromatics and a savoury, textural palate exemplify our Marlborough Grüner Veltliner. With the variety originally hailing from Austria, we feel our rendition takes on the best of European structure and New Zealand fruit opulence. The fruit was hand-picked from the Central Wairau subregion, gently pressed and fermented in both stainless steel and 500L French oak puncheons. It spent 10 months maturing on fine lees which has given increased texture and complexity. We like to call it GV or Grüner - you can call it anything you like!

It was a nervous start to the 2023 growing season in Marlborough, with vairable conditions at flowering in December leading to lower yields and loose bunches. This proved to be a critical factor of the success of 2023, as the La Nina conditions meant evenly spread rains throughout late summer and early autumn did not cause disease issues. Cold nights held botrytis at bay and ensure naturally high acidity in the fruit. An exceptional weather run through March and April was the final positive, and the region was rewarded with intense flavours and ripeness level across the district.

In a slight twist to our usual Blank Canvas philosophy, we have this vintage sourced from two single vineyards, from the Central Wairau and Brancott subregions to create our trademark Blank Canvas style of Grüner Veltliner. Both vineyards are located on the alluvial loams and grabels of the Central Wairau and enjoy the slightly warmer inland hear during the day, sheltered from exposure the coastal easterly. Grüner Veltliner thrives on these stony alluvial loams, delivering the intense orange citrus and subtle white pepper notes that we love.

We hand-harvested the Grüner Veltliner on the 5th and 13th of April 2023. At the winery the grapes were de-stemmed, crushed and gently pressed with a press-cut at 600 L/tonne. The wine ws run into large French oak puncheons (20% new) with the smaller balance to a single stainless steel tank for fermentation. A select yeast starin was used for fermentation which was completed over 12 days and the wine then underwent elevage on lees, with no battonage and malolactic fermentation avoided. It was bottled on the 30th January 2024.