Oyster Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2019

Oyster Bay's philosophy is to produce fine, distinctively regional wines that are elegant and assertive with glorious fruit flavours. It all starts in the vineyard. They treat each vineyard block and parcel of wine individually. The fruit is crushed, gently pressed and the juice is cold settled. A long, slow temperature controlled fermentation and immediate bottling after winemaking retains all the wonderful fruit flavours and aromas that are present.

The 2019 growing season started with mild spring conditions. Temperatures dropped during the flowering of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and the early flowering Sauvignon Blanc. In January Marlborough experienced warm dry conditions, including warmer than average nights. A combination of early flowering conditions, and a warm January resulted in smaller than average berry sizes and loose bunches. This led to wonderful flavour development in the fruit. Welcome rainfall in March supported vine health, and the loose bunch profile in the fruit facilitated quick drying. Harvest was very much in the winemakers hands, with no rain pressure and timing decisions based on physiological ripeness in the fruit. This meant fruit was harvested in perfect condition, with small berries of incredible concentration, varietal character and fresh natural acidity. 2019 will be regarded as one of Marlborough’s great vintages.

Prime central Wairau, Renwick and Brancott soils. Shallow sandy loams over deep layers of free draining river gravels, providing moderate fertility and low vigour.

An emphasis on Bordeaux and UCD1 clones for pure, instantly recognisable varietal intensity and flavour. Medium-to-low vigour rootstock selection matched for suitability to clone and soil vigour.

Throughout harvest, fruit was selected from progressively later ripening vineyard blocks, commencing with the stonier free-draining sites. Upon receipt to the winery, the grapes were destemmed and transferred to the tank presses where the free-run juice was separated and the remaining fruit lightly pressed. The juice was clarified and then inoculated with a select range of yeasts for added complexity and aromaticity during fermentation in stainless steel tanks. A slow, temperature controlled fermentation at 12-14°C (54-59°F) was undertaken. After a short period of yeast lees contact, the wine was racked for final blending and bottled young to ensure that the fresh, crisp and elegant varietal characters were retained.

As a founding member of Sustainable Wine-growing New Zealand, Oyster Bay has always recognised nature as the true producer of their wines. They are conscious of their environment and we work hard to identify sensitive areas such as wetlands, streams and native vegetation to ensure that our vineyard practices do not affect the plants and animals that inhabit these areas. Minimising their water usage through state-of-the-art soil moisture probe technology. Looking after their soils by having inter-row ground cover plantings (rather than bare earth), and by throwing clippings underneath the vines, to provide a botanically diverse ground which encourages beneficial insects into the vineyards. Winery Notes