Marvellous Marlborough: Fresh Greatness From TWR

“Aromatic white wines and Te Whare Ra are synonymous with the phrase ‘high quality’. They just seem to nail it all the time. Organic grown, made by legends.”
Mike Bennie, The Wine Front

The mishaps of 2020 have really clipped the wings of biodynamic Marlborough producer TWR, which deserves to be riding the crest of a wave. Jason Flowerday, one half of this inspiring husband-and-wife team, was named NZ Viticulturist of the Year back in February by Gourmet Traveller WINE. A few months later, the estate rocketed into super-rarefied company by having a second wine added to the Fine Wines of New Zealand classification when Anna and Jase’s 2017 single-vineyard dry Riesling joined Toru.
This spring we have a timely reminder that, though TWR’s modern fame is built upon its pristine aromatic whites, their deft touch and first-rate viticulture works wonders with Syrah and Pinot, too. The estate’s latest Pinot inspired Wine Front writer Gary Walsh to write in his review intro: “I always bang on about how good Marlborough Pinot Noir can be. It just needs the right sites, and attention to detail in the vineyard.” Exhibit A, right here.

WINES

WHITE

2019 TWR Sauvignon Blanc RRP $30
This 2019 Sauvignon Blanc is a blend from four specially selected vineyards in two different sub-regions of Marlborough. We have focused on this sub-regional. Two of the vineyards are in the upper Awatere – Shamrock & Trelawne Farm – and two are in the Wairau, one being our certified organic home block here in Renwick, and the other is a young block owned by Jason’s younger brother Kurt. The growing conditions in the Awatere are characterised by cooler temperatures and slower ripening than in the Wairau, which is all important for flavour development and ripe acidity. The wines from this sub-region tend to be more restrained in their youth but have great texture, structure and longevity. Our home block and Kurt’s experience the warmer days of the Wairau Valley and a bigger diurnal range. These climatic factors combined with our clay loam soil here, results in wines which have great texture and fleshiness and are characterised by riper tropical notes with stone-fruit with a lovely line of minerality.
Over the spring of 2018 we experienced regular rainfall which was great, but a big downpour over flowering significantly reduced the crops in our earlier varieties, so much so that those were down about 30% on our usual tonnage. The summer that followed was one of the warmest on record, and was also very dry, with many areas of Marlborough facing water restrictions and some growers even having their water cut off. The very dry growing season from late December through to mid-March has led to small bunch sizes and small berries across the board. These summer conditions, in combination with our low crops, has led to 2019 being our earliest harvest ever with our first fruit into the winery on 1st March and harvest completed by the first week in April.
The grower vineyards were select machine picked and the home block portion was hand-picked and hand-sorted. The free-run and soft pressings parcels were combined for fermentation. The majority of the parcels underwent slow, cool fermentation in stainless steel, with 12.5% of the blend fermented at warmer temps in older French oak demi-muids. All parcels spent time on fine lees post-ferment for texture. This wine has not been fined and is suitable for vegans and vegetarians and anyone else who loves authentic, delicious, hand-made wines.– Anna Flowerday, TWR

Fresh, crisp, high-energy sauvignon blanc with appealingly pure lemongrass, lime juice, gooseberry and capsicum flavours. A refreshing wine from a hot, dry vintage where many wines lacked acidity. 92 points. Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review

2015 TWR Sauvignon Blanc SV 5182 RRP $43
This is Anna & Jason Flowerday’s inaugural Sauvignon Blanc release under their SV 5182 designation. It is the culmination of a five-year project they’ve been pursuing from their biodynamically farmed home block. The majority of the hand-picked and hand-sorted fruit is fermented in large, old French oak demi-muids, and all parcels spend a good while on fine lees post ferment. It has purity, yet with detail and fleshiness.

Vibrant perfume shows sweet citrus, blackcurrant, faint green herb and a waft of almond. There’s more of those things in the flavour profile, it’s surprisingly tight, though the almond-nuttiness is more pronounced here and layers in more character. Quite powerful too, though you’d also say, surprisingly, restrained. Nicely done. 94 points. Mike Bennie, The Wine Front

2017 TWR Riesling ‘D’ SV 5182 RRP $33
The original Riesling vines on our home block were planted in 1979, the oldest Riesling vines in Marlborough. Part of the reason for our conversion to organic and biodynamic farming was to rescue these old vines and coax them back to life. We saw huge potential in this old block and successfully rejuvenating them has been one of our greatest achievements. The fruit from these old vines has great fruit concentration and structure as well as great natural acidity that lends itself very well to making a dry style of Riesling.
In the spring of 2016 we experienced some wet weather over flowering, which adversely affected fruit set and reduced our crops by up to 30%. The later part of the growing season was more a return to the long-term average after two very warm seasons in 2015 and 2016. Vintage 2017 had some potential challenges, with the tail end of two cyclones which brought some significant rain to the region. But our careful yield management combined with meticulous canopy management meant that our vines produced ripe flavours before the arrival of the big rain events. We had all our fruit off early and had some of the cleanest fruit we have ever seen. The resultant wines are finer boned than the 2016s with more moderate alcohols but with great purity of fruit, bright aromatics and ripe, juicy acidity.
All the grapes for this wine were hand-picked and hand-sorted. The fruit was then destemmed, gently crushed, and air-bag pressed. Some parcels given skin contact time. All parcels were fermented in stainless steel tanks that were purpose-built for Riesling. We like very slow, cool ferments for the Riesling.  Alcohol 12%; RS 3.3g/L; TA 7.3g/L. – Anna Flowerday, TWR

This is the best Te Whare Ra ‘D’ Riesling that I can recall tasting. It has true ‘old vine’ concentration with citrus blossom and subtle oyster shell flavours. Tantalisingly accessible now but with the potential to develop well in bottle. 95 points. Bob Campbell MW, Gourmet Traveller WINE

2019 TWR Toru SV 5182 RRP $30
Over the spring of 2018 we experienced regular rainfall which was great, but a big downpour over flowering significantly reduced the crops in our earlier varieties, such so, that those were down about 30% on our usual tonnage. The summer that followed was one of the warmest on record, and was also very dry, with many areas of Marlborough facing water restrictions and some growers even having their water cut off. The very dry growing season from late December through to mid-March has led to small bunch sizes and small berries across the board. These summer conditions in combination with our low crops has led to 2019 being our earliest harvest ever with our first fruit into the winery on 1st March and harvest completed by the first week in April. The resultant wines have great depth of flavour and fleshiness with purity of fruit, bright aromatics and ripe, juicy acidity.
All fruit for this wine was hand-picked and then hand-sorted. All parcels were destemmed, lightly crushed and then pressed, some parcels had lengthier skin-contact time. The wine was all co-fermented. Co-fermentation is an integral part of making Toru, as it makes the three varieties much more integrated with each other. This wine has not been fined and is suitable for vegans and vegetarians and anyone else who loves authentic, hand-made wines. Alcohol 13.1%; RS 7g/L; TA 5.2g/L. Gewürztraminer 64%, Riesling 24%, Pinot Gris 12%.
This 2019 Toru has an intriguing nose with notes of mango, fresh citrus, white florals and exotic spices. These lead into a multi-layered palate with flavours of mango, citrus, red apple and lychee with a lingering spiciness. The palate has excellent fruit concentration and weight with lovely creamy texture, plus a mineral edge which gives it great length of flavour. – Anna Flowerday, TWR

2019 TWR Pinot Gris SV 5182 RRP $33
Over the spring of 2018 we experienced regular rainfall which was great, but a big downpour over flowering significantly reduced the crops in our earlier varieties, such so, that those were down about 30% on our usual tonnage. The summer that followed was one of the warmest on record, and was also very dry, with many areas of Marlborough facing water restrictions and some growers even having their water cut of. The very dry growing season from late December through to mid-March has led to small bunch sizes and small berries across the board. These summer conditions, in combination with our low crops, has led to 2019 being our earliest harvest ever with our first fruit into the winery on 1st March and harvest completed by the first week in April. The resultant wines have great depth of flavour and fleshiness with purity of fruit, bright aromatics and ripe, juicy acidity.
All fruit for this wine was hand-picked and hand-sorted. The grapes were destemmed, crushed then air bag pressed, some parcels had lengthier skin contact time. Free run and pressings were fermented separately. Fermentation: 71% stainless steel, plus 29% in old French oak for texture and complexity. The tank portions underwent slow, cool ferments to retain aromatics. Barrel ferment parcel were carried out in large format neutral oak on full lees, lees-stirred regularly. All parcels given time on ferment lees to provide texture and complexity. This wine has not been fined and is suitable for vegans and vegetarians and anyone else who loves authentic, hand-made wines. Alcohol 13.2%; RS 5g/L; TA 6g/L.
This wine is finely structured with great purity & length of flavour and a lovely fleshiness. Lifted aromas of nashi pear, raspberry, red apple and white florals follow on to flavours of the same along with savoury undertones which are balanced by fine, supple texture and lingering minerality. This release is a dry style which has concentration, balance and great texture with layers of flavour.- Anna Flowerday, TWR

Attractively aromatic pinot gris with floral, honeysuckle, pear and ripe apple flavours supported by juicy acidity. An initial hint of sweetness leads to a crisp and satisfyingly dry finish. 91 points Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review

2018 TWR Gewürztraminer SV 5182 RRP $43
Te Whare Ra has a longstanding reputation for producing one of New Zealand’s finest Gewürztraminers, and much of the credit must go to the vineyard here. This wine is produced solely from 14 rows in the old block which were planted in 1979 and are some of the oldest vines in Marlborough at 39 years of age.
All fruit for this wine was hand-picked and then hand-sorted. The fruit was de-stemmed and gently crushed, then given some good skin contact time before being slowly and gently air-bag pressed. The wine was fermented entirely in stainless steel. The juice was fermented very slowly at cool temperatures, to retain aromatics. All parcels spent time on lees post-ferment, for added texture and complexity. This wine wasn’t fined and is suitable for vegans and vegetarians and anyone else who loves authentic, hand-made wines. – Anna Flowerday, TWR

Fresh, floral Gewürztraminer with appealingly pure Turkish Delight, anise, potpourri and subtle herbal flavours. Made in a medium-dry style, but with a reasonably drying finish and a little alcohol warmth. 91 points. Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review

RED

2017 TWR Pinot Noir RRP $54
This 2017 release is a blend from three certified-organic vineyards – our TWR home block here at the winery, and the Clayvin and Ridge Vineyards in the Southern Valleys which are owned by the Giesen Family. We were very excited to be able to procure some extra organic-certified fruit from the Ridge and Clayvin blocks as we have seen the quality they have produced over a number of years. 2017 was a stellar vintage in Marlborough for Pinot Noir. This resultant blend has great fruit weight and power, with the depth of flavour and complexity. The wine has a great approachable fleshiness but also the line and length for some serious cellaring.
All fruit for this wine was hand-picked, hand-sorted then destemmed and berry sorted as to ensure that only pristine, perfect Pinot berries make it into the fermenters. Gently transferred to small one tonne open fermenters, hand plunged twice daily. Some parcels had a small percentage of whole bunches included. Cold soak for 7-8 days, 5- to 7-day ferment, up to 14 days post-ferment maceration. Pressed off on taste then filled to oak after 24 hours. In oak for 11 months – all French oak, various different coopers, 30% new, with the balance in older oak. – Anna Flowerday, TWR

Cherry, damp earth, spice and dried flowers. Medium-bodied, a little sappy, but with a coolness and fine ‘mineral’ feel, tannin is dense and tight, with a sort of emery texture, a dusting of cocoa, and tamarind infused red fruits on a long clean finish. Lovely wine. Has a bit of X-Factor, even. I like it. 94 points. Gary Walsh, The Wine Front

This is utterly delicious Pinot, delivering abundant spiced-cherry and blueberry-pastry aromas. This has an attractively composed and fleshy, ripe, dark-cherry and red-plum core with long, fresh and juicy drive on the palate. Such great fruit purity here. 94 points. Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com

2016 TWR Pinot Noir RRP $54
The 2016 release is a blend from two vineyards – our TWR home block and a small, hillside Omaka Valley block – Rawiri which is owned by our dear friends – Dave and Chris Eatwell. We were very excited to procure fruit from the Rawiri block as we have seen the quality it has produced over a number of years. 2016 was a stellar vintage in Marlborough which is typified by the resultant blend. All fruit for this wine was hand-picked, hand-sorted then destemmed and berry sorted as to ensure that only pristine, perfect Pinot berries make it into the fermenters. Gently transferred to small one tonne open fermenters, hand plunged up to 3 times daily. Some parcels small % whole bunch. Cold soak for 7-8 days, 5-7 day ferment, up to 14 days post ferment maceration. Pressed off on taste then filled to oak after 24hrs. In oak for 11 months – all French oak, various different coopers, 30% new, balance in older oak. Alcohol 13%; pH 3.6; TA 5g/L. – Anna Flowerday, TWR

This delivers a very complete and fruit-focused impression with the right balance of fresh red cherries and berries and more savory, woody and lightly earthy notes. The freshness and elegance is impressive. 93 points. Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com

2013 TWR Pinot Noir SV 5182 RRP $91
All fruit for this wine was handpicked, hand-sorted, destemmed without crushing and transferred to small one-tonne open fermenters, hand-plunged up to four times daily. Each clone was fermented separately. Some parcels had a small percentage of whole bunches included. The majority were inoculated with selected yeasts, with a small proportion wild fermented. The fruit had a 7-9 day cold soak, a 5-7 day ferment, and then post-ferment maceration for 8-10 days. Pressed off on taste and then filled to oak after 24 hours. In French oak (30% new) from various coopers for 12 months.

Aromatic pinot noir with bright cherry, raspberry, plum and spice and anise flavours. This elegant and seductively drinkable wine doesn’t lack power but delivers it with great subtlety. Silken texture and a very lengthy finish. 95 points. Bob Campbell The Real Review MW February, 2017