2019 TWR Single-Vineyard 5182 'Toru'

TWR

New Zealand / Marlborough / TWR

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.
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

December, 2020

Christina Pickard

Wine Enthusiast

93 points.

This coferment combines the aromatic white varieties TWR is renowned for: Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Gris. Quiet at first, it offers delicate aromas of red apple and pear skins, peach, lime blossoms, honeysuckle and a mineral streak that shows more prominently as the wine warms in glass. It’s the palate that really strikes gold—slippery but fresh and elegant, with a whisper of sweetness and a long limey finish. Ultrafood friendly, it combines the best of all three varieties into a soft-spoken wine from a sensitive and skilled winemaker.

January, 2021

Mike Bennie

The Wine Front

92 points.

Highly perfumed, beautifully styled, or so it feels, primped and preened, complex white blend. Thanks! Gentle sweetness to taste, a lick of yeasty funk, ripe apple, pear juice, touches of stone fruit in the mix. Supple, bulbous texture, rolls long, finishes gently palate staining and bright. Dying for spicy dishes.

January, 2021

Campbell Mattinson

The Wine Front

91 points

Heightened aromatics and flavour with a silkiness to the texture. In short, there’s a lot to like here. It’s round with flavour but then the finish is classically well sustained. They never put a foot wrong at TWR.

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About TWR

Te Whare Ra (TWR) is a small vineyard and winery located in the Marlborough sub-region of Renwick. The 11Ha vineyard was first planted in 1979 and since 2003 has been owned by winemakers Anna and Jason Flowerday. Yields are kept low, the vineyard is managed with a combination of organic and biodynamic practices and all the fruit is handpicked and hand-sorted.  The wines are made with minimal intervention in a small winery which has been specifically set up for small-batch winemaking.  The aromatic wines have carved out a reputation for TWR as a member of New Zealand’s elite, while the improbably good Syrah and Pinot Noir are opening people’s eyes to Marlborough’s potential for red wines of distinction.
Biodynamic producer, certified organic
http://naturalwine.org.nz/

About

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.