Churton Sauvignon Blanc 2021

Our classic 2021 Sauvignon Blanc is deeply perfumed on the nose showing winter sweet sandalwood and ripe green gage plums. The palate is dry, plush in texture, and mineral with great concentration of plum and grapefruit, finished with crisp mineral acidity Our 2021 Sauvignon Blanc is a complex wine that combines layers of flavours and textures that reflect the Churton terroir.

Our distinctive hillside vineyard above the Waihopai Valley was planted in 2000 with the European approach of close vine spacing and high density (approx. 5,000/ha). We manage the certified organic vineyard according to the principles of biodynamics. In 2021 we had a very early spring with good rainfall a couple of very cold nights but then very early flowering. In Sauvignon Blanc, starting around 1st December, the earliest ever. We moved into a very dry summer with often cool nights. Our vines faired exceptionally well during the dry period their deep roots and our healthy soils with good water retaining capacity giving them resilience. We had sufficient rain to push through to harvest with healthy vines. Sauvignon Harvest began on 24th March, and everything was picked before the end of the month. It was a beautiful harvest of fruit in great condition with absolutely no disease. Yields for the Churton Sauvignon Blanc were good at 50Hl/ha (7.6T/ha). The fruit was well balanced at 22-23 Brix with fine acidity and as is normal for us very low pH (around 2.95 at harvest).

All our fruit is hand harvested, every year. This was particularly pleasurable in 2021 with clean and golden coloured fruit. Precision in our vineyard and winery work is essential, therefore, we pick each block separately, and hand sort everything at the winery to eliminate anything we didn’t like the look of! Our fruit was whole bunch pressed, then settled for 12 hours prior to racking to a combination of tank and barrel (50/50). Fermentation was long and slow with indigenous vineyard derived yeast. Each block was fermented separately and aged on lees for 4 months prior to racking and blending. We bottled early for once, August 2021