Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Sauvignon Blanc 2023

Description

Dry, Mango, Passionfruit

Mango, passionfruit, gooseberry and lime jump out of the glass. Succulent tropical and citrus fruit across the palate, along with a distinct saline, mineral note, a hallmark of Central Otago Sauvignon. The finish is juicy, with pineapple fruit and a salivating acidity stretching out on the finish. A powerful, and very satisfying Sauvignon Blanc from 2023. Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Sauvignon Blanc will improve for 1-3 years given.

The grapes for the wines that carry the Mt Difficulty Bannockburn label are subject to two strict criteria: they are managed by our viticultural team and must be sourced from Bannockburn vineyards - the south side of the Kawarau River in the southern Cromwell basin. Mt Difficulty has three plantings of Sauvignon Blanc which fulfill these criteria; on Templars Hill, Mansons Farm and Saffron. Templars Hill soils vary across the vineyard from a mixture of heavy Scotland Point clay soils to drought-prone coarse gravel Bannockburn soils (classified as man-made due to the sluice mining). Mansons Farm is mostly comprised of Lochar Soils, which are ideally suited to viticulture. Saffron is predominantly comprised of Cromwell sands.

The 2023 growing season in Central Otago was vastly different to the rest of the country. We came out of a mild, wet winter to a warm and unusually still spring which meant strong shoot growth and fruit set. Post flowering, the summer heat increased, and Cromwell experienced it’s hottest January on record. We started picking in the middle of March however, a blast of cold weather from the south during the first week of April put a welcome handbrake on ripening which meant the majority of our grapes developed more flavour and tannin ripeness. We finished harvesting in mid-May, making it a longer vintage with excellent quality.

The Sauvignon Blanc grapes from Templars Hill, Mansons Farm and Saffron were hand harvested through late March and early April. The fruit was handled reductively during processing, then gently pressed and racked clean. The majority of the wine was fermented with indigenous yeast with the majority of the wine fermented cool in stainless steel, this portion of the wine remained on gross lees for three months post ferment whilst being stirred weekly. The Saffron Farm component was wild fermented in old oak barrels. These practices were employed to not only retain the maximum varietal fruit character of Sauvignon Blanc but also to develop complexity, palate weight and texture.