Decibel Giunta Hawke's Bay Albariño 2023

Description

Dry, Floral, Oak

A fruit bomb, this Albariño is vibrant with the high-summer flavours of apricot, yellow nectarine, fragrant florals and a pop of citrus. While totally dry, this has a textural component adding a roundness to the palate andaccentuating the sweet fruit characters. Quite simply a delicious drop.

Hawke’s Bay lies on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Theregion enjoys dry summers with moderate, cool nights. This wine reflects asingle vineyard Albariño which was grown in the Mangatahi Terraces, nearthe small rural township of Maraekakaho. The Two Terraces vineyard isowned and operated by dedicated growers Ian and Linda Quinn. Over thepast 15,000 years, the nearby Ngaruroro River has laid down somespectacular terraces with shallow stony silt loams over red metals. The soilscontain volcanic deposits from past eruptions on the volcanic plateau in thecentral North Island.

The 2023 season started wet but following the mid-Feburary CycloneGabrielle was a late season shift in weather pattern providing hot and dryconditions. This suited the late-ripening Albariño, allowing plenty of time forthe vines to produce beautiful berries packed full of flavour. To extractevery ounce of deliciousness from the grape skins, the fruit was machineharvested and then left to rest as a slurry overnight before pressing. Thejuice was fermented in a combination of seasoned oak barrels and stainlesssteel tanks to build a complexity of flavour. The wine was unfined andcrossflow filtered before bottling in December 2023.