The Chardonnay grapes for this wine were from the vineyard of the de Zwart family in Marlborough. Advanced botrytis followed by several dry weeks produced very shrivelled fruit at an exceptionally high 46 brix sugar content: it was pressed and clarified with the greatest of difficulty. Fermentation of the final juice has produced wine with intense colour. Its deep bronze, almost apricot appearance is typical for this level of botrytis and flavour concentration - as is the big, complex and botrytised nose interwoven with the smell of apricots and oranges. Its concentration and balance conceal a massive 270g/L residual sugar, which would normally make a wine cloyingly sweet; in this case, it is barely noticeable. The plate is complex, long and sustained, and oily in texture, tasting of dried and concentrated apricots, orange peel and raisins. This is not an average dessert wine. It is the equivalent of the most concentrated, very botrytised trockenbeerenauslesen, and it can be taken only in small sips, not drunk like less concentrated late-harvest wines. It should live for many years but it is sufficiently approachable and complex for current use. Try storing it in the fridge and having a little over several days: unlike most wines, it will deteriorate only very slowly when open. |
