Vavasour 

AWARDS

94pts, Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review 2023

PROVENANCE

For all its raw beauty, the Awatere Valley is home to unforgiving soils, cool winds and some of the driest conditions in the country. But we have been here from the start. We know intimately how these very elements conspire to produce remarkable wines, like our Papa Sauvignon Blanc. Named for the compacted blue-grey mudstone that holds tight to the roots of our mature vines, Papa Sauvignon Blanc is made in small parcels from our original low yielding vines planted on a stony river terrace. With rows unusually planted east to west, grapes are harvested in two stages due to different ripening times within the block leading to an array of flavours.

Papa Sauvignon Blanc is pure and poised. Elegant citrus blossom, inviting black currant and fresh herbal notes are all woven together with an undeniable earthy saline minerality that speaks to its Awatere origins.

The complex palate emerges to show layers of citrus, blackcurrant, and dried herbs flowing seamlessly through to a long unadulterated finish.

VINTAGE 2022

By many accounts the 2022 Vintage was a roller-coaster ride. Pleasant spells of warm and dry weather coupled with unseasonable rain kept both our viticulturist and winemaker on their toes. A great spell of weather in the middle of summer drove the ripening forward and with clever canopy management and strategic picking decisions, our grapes were harvested in a clean manner.

We harvested our grapes for Papa in two stages due to different ripening times within the vineyard block. This character leads to array of flavours, reflected in the wine.

WINEMAKING

Fruit was harvested in two stages with select parcels being whole bunched pressed. Juice was settled for 48 hours before being racked and prepared for fermentation. A pied de cuve vineyard culture was used to initiate fermentation and amplify the wine’s provenance. 18% of this wine was fermented in a combination of neutral French barriques and puncheons contributing texture and fullness. Post fermentation the wine was allowed to sit sur lie through winter and early spring to bring enhanced structure and mouth feel. The components were blended and prepared for bottling in late spring.