Greenhough Vineyards

In late 1990, a young couple left Auckland to re-settle in a rural pocket of Nelson, encouragingly named ‘Hope’. Swapping city for country life, Andrew and Jenny took on a four- hectare property determined to create something of their own. The vineyard had been partially established in the mid-70s by a pioneer amateur winemaker. From a single hectare planted in the mid-1970s, the home vineyards have grown to almost nine. Prized parcels of original vines planted in 1976 remain as some of the oldest in the region. The nearby Morison Vineyard, established in 2000, adds a further four hectares. Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are our mainstays, with small blocks of Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Gewurztraminer providing colour.

Ripe and fresh strawberry aromas, with summer berry-fruits, citrusy, floral notes and a lightly spiced, herbal fragrance. Quite Burgundian in style, the palate is vibrant and bright, with a light spicy savouriness and supple structure of well-bound tannins. There is a depth in the exotic guava and quince which have a secondary, preserve-like richness. A refreshing plum-skin tanginess and chalky, minerality balances these ripper flavours.

Delicious with a rack of lamb

Harvest Machine and hand harvested 24-31 March, 2017. Processing De-stemmed to open-top fermenters (1–4 tonne). Punch-downs twice daily during primary ferment. Fermentation Short ambient pre-fermentation soak of 1-3 days with single pump-over. Both inoculated and wild fermentations. Total time on skins 12 - 21 days. Maturation 11 months maturation in 228 and 500 L French oak (15% new). Blended March and tank aged in tank prior to bottling un-fined and with light filtration only. Malolactic Full MLF completed in spring/early summer un-inoculated. Bottled January 2019, un-fined and only a light filtration.

Wine Advocate 92 points. Jancis Robinson, 16.5 points: "Lively ruby colour. Quite intense nose with some richness. Then soft, appealing, quite vegy fruit and a spicy finish. This is not trying to be burgundy but it does succeed in its own way. Some subtlety on the – only slightly dry – finish."