2011 Bird Sauvignon Blanc

Zesty, bright, lively

Production: 2500 cases
Cellaring: 2-4 years

Tasting Notes
This is a classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Strongly aromatic aromas of citrus and passionfruit lead to a crisp and vibrant palate with wonderful sweet herb influences. Layers of tropical fruit combine with the effects of barrel fermentation to create great intensity and persistence of flavour.

Vinification
Machine harvested and pressed quickly to minimize the influence of skin contact with the juice. Chilling to 5ºC facilitates settling and removal of undesirable solids. Fermentation is long slow and cool assisting with fruit flavour preservation and generating mid palate weight. On completion of fermentation the wine is left in contact with its yeast sediment for a minimum of 3 months giving rise to complexity and further assisting with viscosity on the palate. 10% of this wine was fermented in French Oak Barrels.

The Vintage
A challanging vintage in the vineyards brought about by several significant rain events toward the end of the season. We did a lot of work keeping the canopies open to allow air flow and sunlight on the fruit. This kept our crop clean and maximised ripening and flavour development. The season was cooler than 2010 resulting in a later start to harvest.

Food Match
The vibrant flavours of this wine enhance the delicacy of fresh seafood and summer salads, especially with avocado and asparagus. Indian, Thai, Chinese and Japanese dishes which are not overly hot work well, as do lighter meats such as chicken, veal or turkey.