Church Road Sauvignon Blanc

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Church Road

Sauvignon Blanc 2005

Over recent years, the Church Road winemaking team have continued to develop a style of increased complexity across our wines.  An almost French influence is emerging which places greater emphasis on complexity and texture rather than relying simply on fruit and oak for their appeal.

This distinctive Sauvignon Blanc is a complex wine which is more refined and softer than a typical New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Crafted from ripe Marlborough and Hawke's Bay grapes, this elegant and finely textured wine is partially barrel fermented, producing a Sauvignon Blanc which will reward further cellaring.

Winemaker's Notes

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Release date: October 2005
Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Region: 70% Marlborough, 30% Hawke's Bay

Description

This wine is a complex style of Sauvignon Blanc.

Colour: Light yellow/green.

Aromas: The Marlborough fruit brings red currant and elderflower aromas with underlying fresh herbaciousness. The Hawke's Bay component offers melon and tropical fruit aromas. The fruit characters are overlaid with subtle mineral and savoury complexity.

Palate: A fuller-bodied style of Sauvignon Blanc with good mid-palate weight, relatively low acidity and a long, textural finish. The flavours on the palate echo the aromatics. Complex, ripe and lingering.

Cellaring

Drink now for fresh and vibrant wine, or cellar for up to four years to develop pungency and complex mealiness. 

Harvest

The fruit was harvested in good condition at optimal ripeness.

Brix at harvest: 22-23.5°

Winemaking

Winemaker: Wendy Potts

Only free-run juice was used in this wine, resulting in a soft and delicate juice structure. Much of the juice was quite cloudy before fermentation, which imparts more texture and complexity to the resultant wine.

The barrel-fermented components were allowed to remain on their yeast lees for several months after fermentation, to impart subtle savoury flavours, soften the palate and add complexity.  Approximately 30% of this wine was fermented in predominantly older French barriques, adding another dimension to this Sauvignon Blanc.

Analysis

Alcohol: 14.0% by volume
pH: 3.26
Total acidity: 6.5g/L as tartaric

Vintages

1997-2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006*

* currently available vintage(s)

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