Viticulture

The year 2004 was the fifth vintage produced from the Staete Landt Vineyard in Marlborough’s Rapaura region. A completely different weather pattern ensured we were kept on our toes. The spring started off relatively cool with a few scary nights of frost warnings. It then settled into a very warm and dry period that allowed very good even flowering and fruit set. This warm weather continued through to the last part of January when the weather became cool and relatively wet again. This weather pattern continued throughout February and caused some anxiety but did not affect the vines health! The final one and half months prior to harvest were ideal: warm and very dry often with very cool night time temperatures. This delayed harvest by a few days but resulted in very clean ripe aromatic fruit with zingy acidity.
The Staete Landt Vineyard Sauvignon is planted in 6 different blocks. We pick the different blocks separately as soon as they reach ripeness to give us different component wines. This gives us a spread of wines with different structures and flavour. The first picks were to retain a slight herbaceousness combined with intensity and vivacity of aroma and that zingy acidity that is the hallmark of good Sauvignon. The later picks were to provide the weight and tropical fruit concentration that we aim for in our Sauvignon Blanc.

Harvest Dates: 5th April – 16th April 2004
Brix: 23.5 – 24.7

Winemaking

Each picking was treated slightly differently in the winery. The majority of the grapes were machine harvested and fermented using neutral yeast so that the fruit flavours and aromas were emphasized. This wine was racked immediately after ferment.
Two other portions were hand picked and whole bunch pressed to retain delicacy and elegance. The first portion aged in a tank on its lees thus allowing a subtle but complex delicate wine to develop.
The second hand picked portion (about 10% of the wine)was fermented in six year old French oak barrels and was aged for a further 3 months on its lees. 50 % of this underwent and indigenous yeast fermentation. This resulted in more complexity to the wine and minimal oak flavour due to the age of the barrels.

Wine Analysis

Alcohol: 13.5%; Acidity: 7.5 g/l; pH: 3.23; Sugar: 2g/l

Tasting Note

A complex and intensely aromatic Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is perfumed with aromas of passion fruit and gooseberries with a hint of dogwood. In the mouth the wine is full bodied with real concentration of flavour and aroma, a passion fruit character is dominant but this is backed by subtle dry grass like flavours with creamy complexity and a very crisp ripe appley acidity.
This is a wine for drinking whilst young but has the substance and concentration to develop well over two to five years once the primary fruit aromas have subsided.