Winemaker Notes
With maturing vines and a truly favorable year for Gewürztraminer, this wine speaks with real accuracy and pride of its place. This, along with slow, whole bunch pressings, wild ferments and extended lees contact, has resulted in a wine which is defined by remarkable grace and clarity.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A very balanced and beautiful gewurz with a medium to full body, a polished texture and a beautiful finish. So spicy, flinty and intense. White pepper at the end.
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Wine Spectator
Floral and fragrant, with jasmine, lemon blossom and rose water accents to the elegant, juicy core of apple, pear and melon. Harmonious on the long finish. Drink now. 288 cases made, 14 cases imported.
Gewürztraminer, an expressive and aromatically distinctive white grape variety, is considered a noble variety in the Alsace region of France, and produces wonderful wines in the mountainous Alto Adige region of NE Italy. Generally this grape grows well in cooler regions and its natural intensity makes it a great ally for flavorful cuisine such as Indian, Middle Eastern or Moroccan. Somm Secret—Because of a charming perfume and tendency towards slight sweetness, Gewürztraminer makes for an excellent gateway wine for those who love sweet wines but want to venture into the realm of drier whites.
Home to the globe’s most southerly vineyards, which are cultivated below the 45th parallel, Central Otago is a true one-of-a-kind wine growing region, but not only because of its extreme location.
Central Otago is more dependent on one single variety than any other region in New Zealand—and it isn’t Sauvignon blanc. They don’t even make Sauvignon blanc there.
Pinot Noir claims nearly 75% of the region’s vineyards with Pinot Gris coming in a far second place and Riesling behind it. This is also New Zealand’s only wine region with a continental climate, giving it more diurnal and seasonal temperature shifts than any other.
The subregion of Bannockburn has enjoyed the most success historically but the area’s exceptional growth has moved to the promising regions of Cromwell/Bendigo and Alexandra districts. Central Otago is known for its fruity and full-bodied Pinot noir. With the freedom to experiment here, growers and winemakers are easily exhibiting the area’s great potential.