2002 Marlborough vintage

A late Indian summer gave us excellent ripening conditions.

In 2002 there was a return to more normal weather patterns after the previous year's drought conditions. October was a wet Spring with warm growing conditions and less wind than is usual. The rainfall for October, November and December 2001 was double the long-term average for the region. This restored soil moisture levels and provided excellent growing conditions for our Oyster Bay vines.

There were enough fine sunny days in November and December to ensure a successful flowering in all varieties. Yields in Marlborough were larger than normal and this was attributed in part to good weather at flowering combined with fine sunny weather in 2001, which has favoured the development of fruitful buds.

By February the weather had settled down and rainfall was down to normal levels. A late Indian summer, leading into a long dry autumn gave excellent ripening conditions, encouraging the grapes to achieve full ripeness and flavour.

Starting on April 3rd - a few days later than normal - the first blocks harvested were young sauvignon blanc vines, followed a few days later by the older vines. The fruit was excellent, exhibiting classic and vibrant Marlborough sauvignon blanc flavours of gooseberry and passionfruit with crisp acidity and good overall balance. Temperature controlled fermentation immediately captured the elegance and appeal of the wine.

Pinot noir was also harvested from early April and outstanding conditions produced fully ripened grapes exhibiting soft fruit tannins and a concentration of black cherry and plum flavours. The fruit was hand-picked and individual parcels went to separate fermenters. We opted to hand plunge the cap at regular intervals over a 5 day fermentation period.

Chardonnay was all picked by April 15th - wonderfully clean fruit with intense flavours of stonefruit and tropical fruit and excellent sugar and acid balance. After pressing and fruit clarification, the juice was assigned to barrels.

Overall, a great Marlborough harvest with high quality fruit.