Platter's 5 Star Marianne Wines

The grapes were handpicked at phenolic ripeness and stored at 10°C. The bunches were hand sorted before being pressed, maintaining a temperature of 10°C.

2021 - An excellent vintage for Sauvignon Blanc at Marianne Wine Estate. Moderate summer temperatures resulted in slower ripening. Early summer leaf plugging on the Southern side of the vineyard canopy allowed for beautiful golden, green bunches packed with intense flavours and refreshing acidity.

The juice was fermented and matured for 11 months in French oak and acacia barrels to allow complexity to develop. During fermentation and ageing, the lees were regularly stirred up in order to protect the delicate fruit and floral aromas and to improve the mouthfeel of the wine.

The grapes were handpicked at phenolic ripeness and stored at 10 °C to ensure the finest flavor and freshness. Upon crushing, a temperature of 10 °C was maintained and both skins and juice were left in contact in French oak tanks for 10 days. Varying from stainless steel, this approach provides improved color and flavor stability.

Climate, soil, altitude and slope orientation are essential elements required in capturing as much varietal character as possible. The climate is mild to warm with southern winds, ensuring grapes are cooled to optimum temperature for maximum character and flavour. Soils are predominantly medium textured and an average annual rainfall of 800 mm ensures minimal irrigation.

Upon fermentation, flavour and color is allowed to develop for a period of 4 weeks before the wine is transferred to 60% new French oak barrels for 16-22 months. The use of new French oak allows the wine to retain certain flavors and extract tannin from the oak, resulting in a fuller mid pallet. By using only 60% new oak, the fruits within the wine are respected ensuring the wine is complex yet settled with great ageing potential.

The grape varietals were handpicked separately at phenolic ripeness and stored at 10 °C to ensure the finest flavor and freshness. Subsequent processing, fermentation and maturation was carried out separately for each varietal. Upon crushing the grapes into 70 HL French oak casks (Foudres), a temperature of 10 °C was maintained for 10 days with skins and juice in contact to ensure a sufficient cold maceration for optimum color and flavor extraction. During fermentation and maceration on the skins, the fermenting juice is daily pumped over the skins, which is also gently punched down into the juice to allow for optimum tannin and color extraction, as well as flavor development.

Climate, soil, altitude and slope orientation are essential elements required in capturing as much varietal character as possible. The climate is mild to warm with southern winds, ensuring grapes are cooled to optimum temperature for maximum character and flavour. Soils are predominantly medium textured and an average annual rainfall of 800 mm ensures minimal irrigation.

This process takes about three weeks, before the wine is transferred to 40% new and 60% older French oak barrels for 16-22 months. The use of new French oak allows the wine to retain certain flavors and extract tannin from the oak. By using only 40% new oak, the fruits within each varietal are respected and allowed to combine in perfect harmony ensuring truly magnificent fruit flavor and tannin structure. Much care and attention is taken in selecting barrels containing maximum flavor and character for use in the final Bordeaux blend.