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2025 was an ideal Marlborough vintage for sweet wines with grapes ripening well before botrytis eventually set in and did its magic. This is just our second vintage making a sweet wine using the time-honoured Sauternes approach. We believe it is the only wine in NZ that endeavours to follow the exact Sauternes approach. We set aside several rows of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, the traditional Sauternes blend, and left them to rot long after the rest of the vineyard had been harvested. The final blend was 70% Semillon and 30% Sauvignon Blanc
The perfectly “rotten” grapes were hand-picked on 8 May 2025, before being moved to the winery, where they were destemmed and cold soaked for 24 hours. They were then given a slow, gentle pressing to extract the rich, pure juice. After being cold settled, this juice was moved to barrels, 50% of them new. Fermentation was eventually stopped when the ideal balance was reached between sweetness and alcohol. The wines then spent almost 12 months in oak before being bottled on 13 May 2026. Only 58 cases were made.
It is a vibrant deep gold colour. The nose is luxurious, with apricots, honeysuckle, marmalade, chamomile, passionfruit, butterscotch and the classical Sauternes notes of orange peel, orange zest and burnt caramelised toffee. On the palate it is rich and mouth-coating with honey, apricots, citrus, candied ginger, mead, pineapple, quince, orange zest and marzipan.
The precise acid balance, mouthfeel and deceptive sweetness all contribute towards a sensational wine with elegance and refinement. This is a sensual wine that lingers beautifully and seductively in the mouth. It will continue to develop and age gracefully for many years to come, becoming even richer and more complex as it ages.