Misha's Vineyard The Starlet Sauvignon Blanc 2022

"Lifted aromatics of citrus, spice, and crushed passionfruit seeds, the fresh palate has a mineral complexity and herbal notes balanced by a floral elderflower sweetness." Olly Masters (Winemaker)

Misha's Vineyard - a 57-hectare single-vineyard estate of which 26 hectares are planted in Pinot Noir and aromatic whites. The vineyard is located in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago. Our first priority with the vineyard is careful stewardship of this spectacular land by managing our natural resources with respect. The vineyard is farmed according to the strict regime of sustainable farming practices and we ensure that vine health is never ever compromised.

Our sun drenched north-west facing terraces give us one of the warmest sites in the region with the slopes and gullies providing excellent cool air drainage minimizing any risk of frost. Stretching from 210 to 350 metres above sea level, the plantings are predominantly on three levels of gently sloping terraces with just one steep face (the ‘ski slope’) where the rows run dramatically down to the lowest terrace poised just above Lake Dunstan.

The diversity in the soils, various levels and various meso-climates, different row orientations, as well as the range of clones planted, enable complexity in the wines that few single vineyards can match. Our land is also located within a zoned protection area due to the ‘outstanding landscape’ features including schist outcrops, steep escarpments, and gullies filled with native manuka and wild grasses.

Topography: Moderate to steep slopes, gently undulating fans and remnant terraces comprising wind-eroded and water dissected minor ridges and associated areas of loess accumulations. Soils range from outcrops of schist to very fine dusty sands; from extremely hard red boulders to pockets of sticky red clay; and from river gravels to coarse sands - even a small pocket of rich loam. These soils are very complex as they are essentially a combination of glacial outwash and river gravels but generally fit under the classification of Clyde sandy loam.

After a few initial few hours of gentle skin contact the hand-picked fruit was whole bunch pressed to tank for settling. The majority of the free run and pressings juice (68%) was then racked, inoculated and cool fermented to dryness in stainless steel to retain varietal purity. The remaining portion was allowed to undergo spontaneous ferment in older French oak barrels in order to add more texture and complex mineral/flint characters to the wine.

After a few initial few hours of gentle skin contact, the hand-picked fruit was whole bunch pressed to tank for settling. The majority (55%) of the free run and some pressings juice was then racked, inoculated and cool fermented to dryness in stainless steel to retain varietal purity. The remaining portion was fermented in older French oak barrels, using both indigenous vineyard yeast and also using a vineyard sourced “pied de cuve” where a portion of juice is allowed to start fermenting in the vineyard. All these techniques add more texture and complex mineral/flint characters to the wine.