Wine Note

The grapes were hand picked at optimum ripeness.  The dry weather during the ripening period enabled the grapes to reach maximum flavour and intensity.

Fruit

Hawkes Bay

Alcohol Content

13.3%

Vinification

The grapes were whole bunch pressed.  Some of the juice was run off from the press to new barrels for a neutral yeast fermentation.  The balance of the juice was settled overnight and racked the next morning.  fermentation was conducted in oak barrels.  Some of the barrels went through malo-lactic fermentation.  The wine was left on gross lees in barrels for 10 months with weekly stirring. Prior to bottling the wine was fined, stabilised and filtered.

Barrel Percentage

New French Oak Barriques 60% 
One year old French Barriques 40%

Bottling

The wine was bottled on the 28 March 2002.

Sensory

Colour:  Deep straw with a green tint and brilliant clarity. 
Aroma:  Complex and elegant with citrus fruit and subtle cedar oak. 
Palate:  medium bodied wine with a rounded mid palate, tight with crisp acid and refined oak.  Lengthy cedar finish which lingers.

Cellaring

4 - 5 years.