Rabbit Island Nelson Pinot Gris 2020

91 Points (4.5 Stars) - Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, July 2020, NZ

Vineyard: Seifried Redwood Valley and Queen Victoria vineyards
Sugar at Harvest: 21.6°Brix
Date of Harvest: Mid - late March 2020
pH of Wine: 3.32
T.A of Wine: 6.7g/L
Residual Sugar of wine: 5.8g/L
Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans: Yes

The 2020 Rabbit Island Nelson Pinot Gris is a blend of two of our Pinot Gris vineyard blocks. This allows us to take advantage of the varying clones and nuances each of these sites offers.

The unirrigated Redwood Valley vineyard is situated on a gently sloping, north-facing clay site; the vines range in age from 10 to 30 years. Vertical shoot positioning helps to expose the berries to sunlight, thus getting maximum intensity and optimal ripeness.

Our Queen Victoria vineyard is located in the Motueka area in the heart of a region known for its apple orchards, kiwifruit and hops. Our grapes are grown on very stony free-draining soils giving lovely fruit clarity and varietal intensity.

We used separate parcels of Pinot Gris from our stony and silty Queen Victoria block and our north-facing clay soils in Redwood Valley to blend a complex wine. The wine pulls together fruit from our varying estate vineyards to make the best our terroirs have to offer.