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NEW ZEALAND Yealands Estate Marlborough Pinot Gris 2010
Producer
Based in the Awatere to the south east of Marlborough’s Wairau Plains, Yealands Estate encompasses 1,000 hectares of viticultural land (with 500 hectares currently under vine) in the rolling downs of the Awatere Valley, with smaller vineyard blocks near Blenheim.
Yealands Estate is the largest vineyard in private ownership in New Zealand and founder Peter Yealands is renowned for his innovative vineyard management techniques and technologies. The winery is Carbon Neutral and the first to be built entirely under the New Zealand Green Building Council’s accreditation programme, while the vineyard is sustainably managed. This approach in both the winery and the vineyard is rare in such a large operation.
Vineyards
The grapes for this wine were selected out from the best block on Seaview Vineyard, coming from the Berrysmith clone. Exposed to some of the toughest growing conditions in Marlborough, including high sunshine and wind, cool nights and low rainfall, the berries produced here are small, thick-skinned and intensely flavoured. The rolling contours of the vineyard result in significant variation— smaller, more intensely flavoured fruit on the ridges, balanced by lush growth in the gullies.
Vintage Information
The 2010 vintage started slowly with unseasonably cool spring weather through to December, where they experienced a late cool flowering. Over February, March and April they enjoyed the fantastic dry weather patterns Marlborough is renowned for, with warm days and cool nights enhancing the grapes natural flavours. Overall the season produced outstanding wines brimming with varietal flavour, structure and intensity.
Vinification
The fruit was hand harvested then whole bunch pressed. The freerun juice was separated, racked and fermented, (a portion of which went into new French oak), utilising a strain of yeast designed to accentuate the Berrysmith texture and flavour. The wine was left on its lees for three months and stirred regularly to enhance texture and mouth feel, then blended.
Tasting Notes
Ripe and full in style, this Pinot Gris is packed full of concentrated fruit flavour, with delicious notes of spiced pear and toffee. There is breadth and weight on the palate, which is perfectly balanced by vibrant acidity.
| Vintage |
2010 |
| Grape varieties |
100% Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris |
| Region |
Marlborough |
| Winemaker |
Tamra Washington |
| Closure |
Stelvin |
| Alcohol (ABV) |
14% |
