Hunter's MiruMiru™ Marlborough Brut Reserve 2018

Description

• Dry style
• Apple & berries
• Brioche & ginger
• Ripe acidity

"Creamy textured sparkler with pronounced nutty autolysis character. Mellow, appealing wine with ginger, toasted nut and soft, ripe acidity. Shows good bottle development" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Mar 2023

Hunter’s traditional bottle fermented MiruMiru™ Reserve 2018 is blended from Pinot Noir 62%, Chardonnay 35%, and Pinot Meunier 3%. Stored on its yeast lees for 50 months the wine has developed a rich complexity with a full elegant texture on the palate. The wine exhibits bright berry fruits along with biscuity aromas on the nose. The palate exhibits layers of brioche and citrus characters with apple notes on the end palate. The wine shows complexity and balance with excellent richness that carries through to a dry and refreshing finish.

A warm spring without frosts greeted the growing season and encouraged a very quick flowering period. The summer was warm and dry up until Christmas but became very wet in the New Year. We did not need to irrigate our vines for the remainder of the season which was very unusual for Marlborough. Ripe flavours at low sugar levels allowed us to pick early compared with previous years.

The grapes were picked at optimum fruit ripeness to ensure delicate fruit flavours and particular attention was placed on good acid sugar balance. The wine was treated in traditional methods, i.e. no sulphur for subtle oxidation, yet one can still pick up the reasonably strong Marlborough fruit characters. The wine was fermented in stainless steel before undergoing full malolactic fermentation. The Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier parcels were kept separate before blending just before tirage (the addition of sugar and yeast to start secondary fermentation). The wine is then aged on lees in bottle for a minimum of three years before disgorgement. An excellent example of New Zealand sparkling wine made in the traditional method to be enjoyed now or over the next 5 years.