A STICKY END NOBLE SAUVIGNON BLANC 2019 - SALE

TASTING NOTE

Concentrated aromas of passionfruit pulp, honeydew melon and guava are intertwined with a subtle hint of oak. The palate is lush, drawing on flavours of stone fruit, grapefruit pith and honeycomb with underlying nutty notes. The wine finishes strong with a prevalent acid backbone, creating a deliciously morish finish.

FOOD MATCHING

The 2019 A Sticky End Noble Sauvignon Blanc pairs well with cured meats and strong cheese or with a duck terrine on lightly toasted sourdough.

CELLARING POTENTIAL

3 – 5 years.

ORIGIN

Sourced from Blocks 22, 23 and 24 on our Waihopai River Vineyard, Marlborough.

VARIETY

100% Sauvignon Blanc.

WINEMAKING

Once noble botrytis infection was well established throughout the blocks, selected bunches were hand harvested at around 36 brix and whole bunch pressed into stainless steel tanks. The clear juice was settled and racked into 320L French oak “cigars”, 20% new oak. A long, slow fermentation occurred over winter with lees stirring to build palate weight. After fermentation had finished, the wine was left in oak until November before assemblage, filtration and bottling.

ANALYSIS

Alcohol                      10.5%
pH                              3.78
Titratable Acidity      7.5g/L
Residual Sugar          175g/L

VINTAGE

The growing season of vintage 2019 in Marlborough resulted in a smaller than expected yield across the entire region but also delivered intensely flavoured fruit of exceptional quality.

Well established soil moisture levels set us up perfectly for an uncharacteristically warm winter. Spring produced near perfect conditions for bud burst and canopy establishment while a lack of any significant spring frosts resulted in very high yield predictions. Above average rainfall combined with below average wind and sunshine hours in December meant flowering and fruit set was slightly below earlier predictions. However, almost drought-like conditions from Christmas onwards meant a dry, hot ripening season allowing the fruit to reach intense levels of flavour and ripeness. It also meant that despite some heavy, late season rain the fruit was in immaculate condition come harvest time and in pristine condition on receival at the winery.

The highs and lows of the 2019 vintage have thrown some challenges our way but a well-prepared vineyard and winery team significantly reduced the potential impact of these events. The end results are some incredibly concentrated, ripe and balanced wines of extraordinary quality.