Wither Hills Rarangi Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (Marlborough, New Zealand)
By Rob Pickard
As one of the leading names in New Zealand winemaking, most wine fans have tried the delights of the Wither Hills stable, with fine examples of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay on offer here in the UK. With Bibendum’s Just Add…Bibendum tasting taking place last week, it was no surprise to see the Wither Hills table jam packed with eager tasters from the UK trade.
With a large selection of the range on offer, it was the Wither Hills Single Vineyard wines which received a lot of interest, in particular the Single Vineyard Rarangi Sauvignon Blanc 2011. A real stand out wine, it hails from an impressive site situated a couple of hundred metres from the sea, surrounded by native wetlands and at the end of the Wairau Valley. Wither Hills grow a range of grapes on the Rarangi site, including Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris, but is the Sauvignon Blanc that is most at home here.
An interesting little corner of the Marlborough Valley, the vineyard was planted in 2002 and its soils are a combination of what was the coastal waters edge and natural wetland waterways. Over the centuries this has slowly been uplifted by the movement of tectonic plates that form the main fault line up the east coast of New Zealand. Today this heady mix of different soil components with the uplifted seabed, pea gravels and pockets of silt and clay, has created a fantastic environment to produce fresh, vibrant whites.
Alongside the Rarangi’s interesting soil structure, the climate is also very kind to the winemaker with the Rarangi vineyard blessed with an extremely warm climate moderated by a cooling easterly wind. This maritime influence coupled with these soils, produces wine which encapsulates this particular site, and tasted alongside other Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs, the Rarangi terroir really stands out proud.
The 2011 vintage was characterised by the long warm days and cool nights which is so common in this area of the world, and alongside a long warm growing season this all enables the Marlborough growers to create the ripe fruit, fresh aromatic flavours and great acidity found in the best Sauvignon Blanc.
With Rarangi’s already warm microclimate, the grapes here offer rich, ripe citrus and tropical fruits, but being so close to the ocean and benefitting from the cool sea breezes, the acidity and structure found within the wine is top notch. All in all, the elements of the unique site create a killer Sauvignon Blanc!
Check out the video below to see Wither Hills’ Winemaker Sally Williams talking about the Single Vineyard projects at Wither Hills -