Harvest 2023 was a season characterized by collectiveness, collaboration, tranquility, and winemaking finesse. It began strongly with excellent flowering, leading to the potential for an abundant crop come harvest time. A classic Central Otago Summer saw consistent days with slightly higher than average heat summation.

Persistent rain events during berry maturation meant that focused vineyard management was essential to preserve healthy fruit for the harvest. This challenge was well met, resulting in beautifully clean fruit ready for a promising harvest. From our hillside Scott Base vineyard in Cromwell all fruit was carefully hand picked then sent overnight to our Marlborough winery.

With a talented and experienced team of cellar hands and leaders, this vintage provided an opportunity for everyone to showcase their skills, collaborate, and share expertise, allowing the true essence of the fruit to shine. The hand-picked grapes were destemmed and gently transferred to open fermentation tanks.

After 7-10 days the grapes began to ferment and were hand-plunged daily before draining and pressing into French Oak barrels. Maturation for a year in barrels was followed by a barrel selection process, with the wine then blended and prepared for bottling.