Twin Islands Pinot Noir 2005
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A single minded focus on Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has allowed Nautilus Estate of Marlborough to produce this refreshing, crisp, intense style for decades. Twin Islands Sauvignon Blanc offers an approachable wine in the classically recognisable Marlborough style at exceptional value by Nautilus Estate since 1992. Over the last twenty years, we have selected specific vineyard sites that produce distinctive aromas and fruit driven palates from the stony river beds and windy hillside sites of Marlborough. Our grapes are 100% from the stunning Marlborough region and have the intense, grapefruit and tropical flavours for which the region has become world famous. Our winemaking is sympathetic and non-interventional, allowing the Sauvignon Blanc grape's true characters to shine through. Blending is used to build the aroma and palate profiles, which produces well rounded wines that represents the classic Marlborough style. All our wines are sustainably produced and vegan friendly.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.