Winery & Vintage Info
A truly remarkable growing season that was marked by dry, warm weather. A significant late season frost and a cooler start to flowering in December created low yields across much of the region. As an average our estate and grower blocks were 25-30% down on average, with a surprising number of Sauvignon vineyards yielding single digits. Pristinely clean fruit on the vine and smaller than usual bunches had us quietly brimming with excitement.
With no disease pressure, and the driest summer in Marlborough for over 90 years harvest started on the 13th of March and was more of a sprint than a marathon, with the last block coming in on the 30th of March. The earliest and quickest harvest in many years.
Sourced from our estate in the Waihopai Valley and a handful of growers, some of which have been part of Catalina Sounds for the last 15 years. There is increasing emphasis on the Southern Valleys, where over 60% of our fruit comes from and the higher proportion of clay creates wines with mineral focus and mid-palate texture. The remaining 40% is from the central and lower Wairau areas, where the vines thrive in the free draining alluvial soils and express classic herbaceous, citrus and subtle tropical aromas.
The winemaking in great years like 2024 isn’t complicated, all vineyards and sub-blocks are kept as separate as possible. Freshly pressed juice was cold settled and left to clarify for several days before racking and then fermenting at cooler temperatures with selected yeasts in stainless steel. A small portion of juice from our estate is fermented in large, seasoned oak cuves to add texture and mid-palate. weight The wine components are then left to rest on their lees before grading and blending. Bottled in September with no animal products used, this wine is vegan friendly.
