Astrolabe Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Aroma - Powerful gooseberry, white currant, red capsicum, passionfruit and lime peel aromas.

Palate - Medium-bodied, with strong flavours of makrut lime, passionfruit, lemongrass and a refreshingly smooth, dry and persistent finish.

In his Province range, Simon emphasises the varietal intensity created by Marlborough’s leafy vineyards, ripe fruit and cool-climate winegrowing conditions. Simon takes the classic varietal styles of the region and, through delicate fruit handling and astute blending, produces benchmark wines.

Climate: An early budburst with warm weather through to a dry and sunny November. Rains in October and December set up the canopy for strong growth with some issues with fungal diseases. January was dry and helped reduce the mildew pressure. High February rain fall caused some botrytis issues while giving a helpful boost to the canopies. Berries sized-up with the available water, and the yields were enhanced. Although the vineyards were delicately poised regarding botrytis pressures, a dryish March and April allowed our fruit to attain targets for flavour and maturity in good condition.

Soils: Free-draining stony, silty loam, with some vineyards having clay or limestone content.

Vine Management: Standard trellis, with pruning to two to four canes, and vertical shoot positioning. Vines are trimmed closely, well tucked and lightly leaf plucked.

Harvest Date: Between the 26th of March and the 22nd of April, 2022.

WINEMAKING The fruit was machine harvested in cool evening conditions, de-stemmed and lightly pressed with minimal skin contact. Clear, cold-settled juice was fermented in stainless steel vats at low temperatures, using neutral wine yeast strains to allow the powerful fruit flavours to dominate. Bottled 14th June, 2022.