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 37 years of age. Part of the reason for TWR's conversion to organic and biodynamic farming was to rescue these old vines and coax them back to life. Anna and Jason Flowerday saw huge potential in this old block and successfully rejuvenating them has been one of their greatest achievements. The low-cropping vines give amazing complexity and concentration.
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.
2016 was an exceptional vintage in Marlborough, characterised by a warmer and drier than average summer and very even ripening. This resulted in very balanced, fleshy wines with juicy acidity. The Gewürztraminer is intensely perfumed, with notes of lychees, ripe oranges and cloves. These lead into luscious varietal flavours of lychee and quince, with underlying characters of ginger and exotic spice. The palate shows intense fruit concentration and weight with a fine, soft texture and excellent persistence of flavour. This wine is of medium-dry sweetness and continues the outstanding quality of previous vintages of Te Whare Ra Gewürztraminer.
Anna Flowerday hails from McLaren Vale and kicked off her career there amid a thoroughly talented pack of young winemakers in the mid-1990s. She worked for Hardys for seven years all up, culminating in an aromatically formative stint at Leasingham in Clare Valley. It was during her time at Hardys that she met and fell in love with Jason Flowerday, a third-generation viticulturalist from Marlborough. Eventually they struck out together and in 2003 bought Te Whare Ra, home to one of the oldest vineyards in Marlborough, originally planted in 1979. Together they manage the estate with a combination of organic and biodynamic practices and have cemented this region's reputation not only as an impeccable source of aromatic whites but also as a force to be reckoned with for both Pinot Noir and Syrah.