Blank Canvas 'Abstract' | Three Rows Sauvignon Blanc 2019

Abstract is our ‘Savoury Blanc’, where texture and aromatic complexity bedazzle, and where vineyard and winemaking contribute equally. Just three rows of a dry-farmed parcel are handpicked from the Holdaway Vineyard in Dillons Point. There’s an intense and seductive perfume of blackcurrant and white florals, while winemaking lends savouriness and flinty minerality. Wild fermented in seasoned French oak puncheons and lees-aged for 14 months, this is a wine rich in texture. With elegance and beautiful balance, it is for enjoyment now but will age with grace and dignity.

The Holdaway vineyard is in the Dillons Point sub-region on the coastal fringe of the Wairau Valley. The vineyard is owned by the Holdaway family who have been farming in Marlborough for generations. Alan and Janette and their sons Richard and Robbie practice regenerative viticulture; prioritising soil health through composting, growing impressive inter-row mixed species plantings to increase organic matter in the soil and a zero-till policy. The ‘Abstract’ Sauvignon Blanc three row parcel is dry-farmed, a relatively rare practice in Marlborough. The vineyard is VSP-trained and cane-pruned.

The grapes were selectively hand-harvested on 27th March. We gently whole-bunch pressed the fruit with the free run juice only going to three to five-year-old French oak puncheons (500L). The wine was left to ferment naturally with wild yeasts and with full solids. We did not stir the barrels at all throughout their time in oak, and we added a small amount of SO2 at the start of spring to avoid malolactic fermentation. Maturation in these seasoned oak puncheons took place over 14 months before being bottled without filtration on 14th July 2020.

14 months in seasoned French oak puncheon, and a year in bottle prior to release.