GIVE GRÜNER A GO.
Jules explains what Grüner Veltliner (or "that other white wine") is all about.
FOOD MATCH
Grüner loves stong flavours and spice so try it with something like sticky pork belly bao buns with hoisin sauce and cucumber and spring onions. Or try prawn and chive dumplings with chilli oil and black vinegar.
WINEMAKERS NOTES
Grüner Veltliner is a cool climate wine originally from Austria. Jules describes it as "the illegitimate lovechild of Pinot Gris and Riesling!" One of the reasons that we’re making it is to stretch our wings, to see if there is life after Sauvignon Blanc. The initial results suggest that there might be.
AROMA & FLAVOUR
Crisp green apple, ginger and ripe
peach combine on the nose with just a
hint of citrus, honey and white pepper. The palate boasts delicious flavours
of rock melon and peach, mandarin
and lemon zest. There is also a hint of
Grüner’s signature white pepper flavour.
This is a fine, concentrated wine with
a lovely textural element from the
wild fermented portion alongside crisp
acidity and a long, refreshing finish.
VINTAGE NOTES
The 2021 season got off to a cracking start with a warm spring causing an early bud burst
and flowering. However frost on 30th
September followed by unsettled weather during flowering severely reduced the
number of grapes. From Christmas onwards, conditions reverted to sunny, dry weather causing the grass to turn from spring green to golden
brown. The grapes started to race towards harvest, but the prolonged dry spell
limited any berry growth, so at harvest we had very clean small berries but also
some of the lowest harvest bunch weights since 2007. Our Marlborough harvest
began on the 4th of March, nine days earlier than 2020 and certainly one of the
earliest harvests in Marlborough. The Grüner Veltliner was the fruit to be picked
this year and was delivered into the winery with a comedy flourish on April Fool’s
Day. Without exception, all fruit this year was disease-free and had great flavour
concentration. We just wish there were more to go round!
VINIFICATION
This year our Grüner Veltliner grapes were 100% hand-harvested from a single, small vineyard in the Wairau sub-region of Marlborough. The fruit was whole bunch pressed and the free run juice was cold settled over 48 hours and then fermented cool and slow in a stainless steel tank to retain the vibrant aromatics. This approach contrasted with the handling of a second portion which was pressed directly into old French oak for a wild ferment followed by a full malolactic fermentation. Soon after fermentation the two components were blended together before being bottled and sealed with a screw cap to retain perfect freshness.
