Butterworth Te Muna Martinborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Description

Dry, Oak, Pineapple

"It's elegantly lifted on the nose, showing green apple, apricot, lemon zest and kaffir lime aromas, leading to a lively palate that's finely textured and persistent. Splendidly structured by racy acidity, making it crisp-dry and lingering. At its best: now to 2026" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Aug 2024

"A barrel-fermented expression with a bouquet of nut and spice then fruits of gooseberry and lemon, some peach and fresh tobacco leaf. There’s a seam of hay and floral scents adding complexity and style. Firm and dry with  youthful backbone of acidity then flavours of gooseberry, golden kiwi and citrus. Balanced and well made, a wine ready to drink from day of purchase through 2030" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Aug 2024

Bright light golden hue. Pineapple, sage, basil, and grapefruit pith are primarily evident, with a background of cedar. The nose has savoury mineral elements adding to the complexity. The 20 months on gross lees has given the wine a rich mid-palate oiliness, with the Te Muna acidity pulling the length further with a hint of herbal phenolic grip.

This wine is sourced from Butterworth Estate’s Julicher Te Muna Vineyard, six kilometres from the Martinborough township. The vines are tended by hand and are sustainably grown on a two cane Vertical Shoot Positioning trellis system. Due to frost pressure and very free draining soils, the vines are naturally low cropping, which leads to naturally high-quality fruit with a long ripening time. 2022 was a challenging year following a good flowering, with the vineyard team working hard to reduce pressure from the weather. The bunches were free of disease, with a perfect flavour profile for oak maturation.

The grapes were hand harvested, whole bunch pressed to a settling tank, before being racked to mature French Oak barrel for fermenting. Once dry, the wine was sulphured and left on gross ferment lees for eighteen months without stirring for mouthfeel, while preserving varietal purity. The wine was transferred lees and all to a tank at the end of the eighteen months for another month of contact. The wine received no fining, and only a light filtration before bottling.