After the 'relaxing harvest', we can't hang around too long - we have 2011 to think about!
The winery has been cleaned from head to toe by the harvest staff and there is not a grape berry in sight. Most of the harvest staff have gone back home or off traveling but we still have a few hangers on to help with the blending in the coming weeks. The last of the Sauvs are just finishing fermenting, we have been busy getting them racked off their lees (the dead yeast that did the fermentation) and getting them all to the same stage for our blend tasting. The Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are being kept warm for their malolactic fermentation.
It's been cold and very wet in Marlborough over the last few weeks, the drought has definitely broken. The rain has been good to refill the vineyard dams but not so much fun for those having to work outside. The guys are just beginning the big and important job of pruning which marks the start of making next year's wines. The number of buds that are laid down go on to determine the yield of grapes that we will harvest next vintage. Pruning will continue for the next few months over the chilly Marlborough winter.
In a couple weeks we'll see the start of the big rush to get the 2010 Sauvs blended and ready for bottling which should start in early August. We have also been taking the 2009 Pinot Noir out of barrel and getting it ready to go to bottle in early July.
So what are the wines looking like? Well, not much has really changed from my vintage report - exceptional! The Sauvs are still showing great intensity and there's a good mix of tropical fruit flavours as well as some green grassy wines.
The Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays are still going through Malo so they are at a bit of an ugly duckling stage. Both have great palate weight and no sign of green characters (which we want to avoid in Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs). Some batches in Pinot are showing some amazingly rich colour especially from the Awatere.
That's about it for now.
Cheers!
Anthony Walkenhorst, Kim Crawford Winemaker
