Wither Hills Wairau Valley Pinot Gris

This 2016 Wither Hills Pinot Gris has lovely fruit purity and poise with layered aromas and flavours of fleshy white peach, grapefruit, quince and Beurre Bosc pear.

Aromas

This 2018 Pinot Gris is beautifully aromatic with layer upon layer of fresh white peach, quince, Beurre Bosc pear and subtle spice.

Palate

The palate is off-dry in style and refreshingly vibrant, delivering a beautifully succulent mouth feel balanced by a thread of refined spicy pear skin phenolics for a long and textural finish.

Food Pairing

Perfect with a wide range of foods such as salty feta and/or washed rind cheeses, wood-smoked river salmon and roast pork with crackling.

Winemaking

Thirteen small and strategically selected vineyard sites including our coastal Rarangi vineyard, were harvested and kept separate throughout the winemaking process to provide vineyard integrity and also offer the greatest possible number of blending combinations. The fruit was hand and machine picked, gently pressed, ambiently settled, racked and cool fermented in stainless steel tanks and a small proportion of French oak barriques with selected yeast strains to enhance the unique aromatics and flavours of Pinot Gris.

Viticulture

Frost alarms sounded throughout the spring months in Marlborough during the lead up to the 2018 vintage. Early November proved to be a particularly challenging time with hard frosts occurring when vine shoots had just escaped their buds. Fortunately we sustained minimal damage and the majority of the crop was left to ripen unhindered. This cold snap in early spring eventually gave way to warmer temperatures which persisted for the duration of the season and favourable conditions during flowering led to a successful fruit set.

A large rainfall event in the New Year gave vines a much needed drink and some reprieve from the drought conditions that had plagued the district over the previous 18 months. The warm conditions that continued during the Autumnal months meant there was little pressure during picking and that the grapes were ripe for picking when it came to harvest. With 2016 being one of the warmest seasons on record, the bountiful crops were given ample time to reach optimum maturity under marginal disease pressure.