Te Whare Ra, Single Vineyard Toru, Marlborough, 2018

The name Toru means ‘three’ in Maori, reflecting the blend of 75% Gewürztraminer, 16% Riesling and 9% Pinot Gris, which are co-fermented with some extended skin contact and ‘considerable time on lees after ferment’. The fruit is from selected parcels in Te Whare Ra’s Home Block in Renwick, where Anna and Jason Flowerday own 11ha in total, home to plantings dating back to 1979. A warm, dry growing season assured good flavour development despite some challenging wet and windy Pacific weather arriving in the run-up to the 2018 harvest, and clean fruit was picked early, finishing in the first week of April. The blend is well judged, dry with 7g/l residual sugar, with a lovely poise of flavours, herbal and lightly spicy on the nose with intriguing orange marmalade and floral mango notes, then more orange with peach, tropical notes and a little lemon tart on the palate. Layers and personality, constantly changing, good value too.