Round Mountain Sauvignon Blanc

The grapes were pressed and allowed to settle naturally and racked slightly “dirty” to barrel for fermentation. Mainly older, neutral French oak was used (about 5% new). Malo-lactic fermentation was not encouraged, but a few of the barrels inevitably go through naturally. Partial lees stirring helps to balance the higher acidity and gives the wine some added palate weight.

The dry, warm mid-summer meant that we had low disease pressure and we went into veraison with the vines in excellent condition. The grapes had even ripening and good yields with excellent aromas and acidity. This is an old vineyard located on one of the highest slopes on our farm. The soils are a moderately textured decomposed granite. It is an excellent site that gives a nice balance of flavour. This vineyard produces concentrated fruit with excellent natural acidity and good ageing potential and we have tried to apply traditional winemaking practices to bring out the best in the wine.

After about 9 months on the lees, the wine was carefully racked, given a light fining and bottled with minimal filtration.