Owned by the Neylon family, Rapaura Springs has an astonishing track record of Trophies and top points for its wines. The family started their farming career with mussels and apples but found vines much more rewarding and since making this move haven’t looked back. Their goal is to enhance the environment around them through sustainable vineyard and winemaking practices that will leave a natural legacy for future generations. Rapaura Springs have a philosophy of minimum intervention, and all vineyards are carefully managed under strict Sustainable Wine Growing New Zealand standards. They let Marlborough’s land, climate and water do the hard work, then handcraft superb wines at the state of the art winery, leaving the vineyards to tell their own story, with just a little nudge in the right direction from experienced viticulture and winemaking teams. The result is a selection of focused, terroir-driven Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Noirs with outstanding varietal expression.
The Pinot Noir grapes used in this wine were sourced from select premium vineyards within the Marlborough region. Small parcels of quality fruit were harvested over a number of days from four individual vineyards in four separate sub-regions of Marlborough. Fruit was picked when optimum levels of ripeness and flavour were achieved.
Upon arrival the fruit was cold soaked for 3 5 days to extract the desired flavours, tannins and colour. Fermentation followed, in a selection of small open top tanks, using a selection of yeasts. The wine was plunged two to three times a day to extract colour and tannins from the skins. Select parcels were then allowed to macerate, further extracting colour and flavours after fermentation, for a further two to five days. After gently pressing the liquid off skins, the wine underwent malolactic fermentation to soften the palate and was then aged with a combination of French and Hungarian Oak.
The 2018 growing season in Marlborough was not without some challenges. December we enjoyed perfect flowering conditions, January was one of the warmest on record, February delivered some rain and March was characterised by extended dry periods and high sunshine hours. Despite all this, the fruit ripened nicely on the vines, earlier than normal, and fruit was clean, ripe and intensely flavoured come harvest in April.
Dark cherry and blackcurrant fruits are complimented with complexing mushroom and black olive tapenade flavours. The palate is rich with combined dark and red berry fruits, blueberries and cassis. Finely poised and silky tannins.
Enjoy with Grilled Venison Medallions and Mushroom and Tomato Bordelaise sauce or a Beetroot and Goats Cheese Tart.
Best served at 15-16°C
Marlborough, New Zealand
100% Pinot Noir
Screwcap
13.5%
2.8g/l
5.8g/l
No
No
