Church Road Barrel-Fermented Hawke's Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2023

Description

Dry, Floral, Grapefruit, Oak

This vineyard typically expresses notes of passionfruit, pink grapefruit and elderflower with some herbaceous notes bringing freshness to the aroma. More complex notes of underlying minerality with a touch of subtle creamy French oak helps to build aromatic and textural interest. On the palate, the wine is medium weight, with fresh, zesty acidity and good textural length.

This wine was grown on our Matapiro Vineyard in the cooler Crownthorpe Terraces sub-region of Hawke’s Bay. At approximately 200 M above sea level, this is our most elevated and inland vineyard. Being further from the moderating influence of the sea breeze, there is greater diurnal temperature fluctuation, with warm days and cool nights, perfect for retaining aromatics and acidity. The vineyard is planted on old river terraces, high above the present-day course of the Ngaruroro River. Consisting of a very light shallow topsoil over old river gravels, the topsoil contains a proportion of iron rich volcanic ash which results in an iron oxide staining, turning the originally grey gravels a rusty red hue. These free draining, low nutrient soils, known locally as ‘red metals’ are perfect for quality viticulture. The vines were trained to 3 cane VSP with a modest crop load. Around 70% leaf removal was targeted in the fruit zone, allowing dappled light and good air circulation without excessive exposure.

After crushing and pressing, the juice was racked without any clarification aids. This resulted in a very cloudy juice fermentation, which gave us a more textural and aromatically complex wine. The juice was inoculated with selected yeast strains and cool fermented to enhance the punchy aromatics naturally inherent in the fruit. A small proportion (approximately 5%) of new French oak was used in the blend, which lends extra weight to the palate and a subtle creaminess to the aroma spectrum, without appearing overtly oaky. The weight and complexity of the wine was further enhanced by aging for several months on full yeast lees.

Food Pairing: Try with fresh and vibrant salads and vegetables, including fennel, tomato, basil, parsley, rocket, green beans and asparagus and fresh Mozzarella style cheese. It also works well with many summery styled seafood and poultry dishes.