2011 was a pretty special year in our Te Muna Road Vineyard. Special because it was our tenth vintage from Te Muna, time flies! Special because the season has delivered something quite incredible, and also personally special as for the first time I was able to spend a really good amount of time in the vineyard. For the whole year I spent a couple of days a week staying in our manager’s house on the vineyard and a lot of time understanding what I am beginning to realise is a remarkable piece of land. Early mornings and the hour before dusk are beautiful times in the vineyard and with no one else around gives a very clear head to understand what the land is delivering.

The 2011 season had a few quite critical times. The spring was dry and warm, which set up excellent flowering and potentially very nice crops. December, in particular, late December as well as the first three weeks of January were also very dry and warm. By Christmas Day the Pinot Noir started showing signs of water stress, which if farmed correctly, actually helps wine quality by keeping berry size small and promoting the opportunity for a lot of nice dark red skins. Sauvignon Blanc vines also manage water stress by developing smaller more intensely flavoured berries. Just as the vines were showing signs that extra water was required, over 50mm of rain fell in the fourth week of January, giving the vines a beautiful, perfectly timed natural watering. This simple sequence of events set the whole season up for us, producing ripe grapes earlier than we would have expected, balanced vines and very intense flavours.

The 2011 Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling wines from our Te Muna Road Vineyard are some of the most intensely flavoured we have made since the first vintage in 2002. They do however retain a sense of tension and a lovely chalky texture, even in this warm vintage, which can only be a vineyard character. They may surprise some people with their intensity, however they are a true reflection of not only this estate, but this vintage. I expect more of the textural components in the wines will show with a little time in the bottle.

This release also includes the 2010 vintage of our Te Muna Road Vineyard Pinot Noir. This season could not have been more different from 2011, being very cool with repeated rainfall events in the lead up to veraison delayed ripening until the end of April, three weeks later than normal. The 2010 wine is one of our more elegant and poised wines. Wonderfully floral and nervy on the nose with a vivid brightly fruited palate and lovely fine dried earth tannins which are the hallmark of the Te Muna Road Vineyard. Crops were light however, so there is not much of it.

This vineyard rates as one of the most beautiful I have ever worked in and has the potential to become one of
the truly great vineyards. Our tenth vintage is the start of realising that potential.

Enjoy!
Steve Smith, Master of Wine
Director of Wine and Viticulture
 

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