Mistral 2016 - Library Wine

The chilly “Mistral” blows during the warm parts of the growing season in the French Rhone valley, the native home of these powerful and aromatic grapes varieties. It is  cooling down the vines, helping the grapes to retain acidity through the hot summers. The grape prefers warmer environments and a long growing season but don’t do well with heat. What the Mistral is for the Rhone Valley, the cool nights are doing in Marlborough. These fickle, natural low yielding varieties love to sunbathe on one our hottest block in sandy/gravelly soils and able to cool down in the night. The ideal warm and long growing season of 2016 rewarded us with beautiful healthy grapes, picked at perfect physiological ripeness at an extremely low yield of 500g/vine.

Only such impeccable clean fruit benefits from a cold maceration (extended skin contact) to extract compounds from the fruit flesh, pulp, skins and seeds into the must for a fruit-forward and complex wine with increased aromatic and colour intensity. The must of the Marsanne and Roussanne then went through a long, cool wild yeast co-fermentation in a 500l puncheon followed by a natural malolactic fermentation. All three wines were blended after the natural fermentation to mature in two 500l French oak puncheons on its fine lees for 18 months. No fining and no filtering to maintain its purity and flavours. Vegan wine.

A white powerhouse! The richness, structure, spice and great acidity of the Marsanne and Roussanne compliment the exuberant fruit intensity and roundness of the Viognier creating a full-bodied wine that is packed with apricots, white florals and Mediterranean herbs. This complex blend has a refreshing mineral backbone with the texture of silk. The magnificent depth and richness is followed by a long lasting smooth finish that keeps on giving.

Well suited to rich seafood and fish dishes, Asian style pork, goat cheese and chicken.