Hans Family Estate - Secret of Marlborough - Montepulciano 2019

Fruit excl. from own organic estate vineyard. 23 old vines. Unique micro-climate. Free draining soils on the bank of the Wairau river. Close planted 5,500 vines/ha. Lowest yield for concentration and complexity: <1kg per vine (2.5t/ha). Hand-picked at 24.1 brix. Natural wine making: Wild, cool, long ferment. No adjustments or additives (except min. SO2). No racking. 24 months on the fine lees. No fining. No filtration. Vegan Malolactic natural (no inoculation). Matured in Never & Troncais barriques. 30% new. Bottle aged for 18 months. 154 cases crafted. Powerful yet elegant Montepulciano.

Vineyard: Wairau Valley - Rapaura, Prime location. One of the warmest sites in the Wairau valley, special micro-climate from adjoining Wairau river. Naturally frost protected.

Soil Type: Shallow (<45cm) stony, gravel and sandy soil. Well drained, developed from stony alluvium. Not one row shows the same soil type.

Perfectly healthy, destemmed grapes allowed for a long cold soak to extract the superb flavours and beneficial antioxidants of the skins. The must progressed through a long cool wild yeast fermentation and extended post maceration.

After gentle pressing, I transferred the young wine into French Barriques and Puncheons (20% new) for it’s natural malolactic fermentation. The minimal oxygen exchange over a long 30 months of maturation on the fine lees softened and smoothed tannin and acidity without too much wood tannin extraction. The wine and wood married together to form a richer, more complex and textured wine, able to age for many years in the bottle. No fining. No filtration. Minimum effective SO2. Natural goodness