Geoff Merrill Sauvignon Blanc Premium

WINEMAKING

Framingham Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is blended from fifteen base wines sourced from seven different sites in the Wairau valley including the North Bank, Southern Valleys, Lower Wairau and our own Estate at Conder’s Bend. A range of soil profiles, from stones to clay, as well as different mesoclimates and vineyard practices, provide complexity in the finished wine. The fruit was largely harvested by machine, giving skin contact for a limited time which can extract a little extra flavour, and gently dejuiced in the winery. In addition, two components were hand picked. Resultant juices were clarified by cold settling before racking to ferment. Machine picked components were fermented in stainless steel tanks at cool temperatures, whereas hand picked fruit was barrel fermented at warmer temperatures to promote texture. Once fermentation was complete, the wines were racked off gross lees, sulphured and left to age on light lees for 3 months to add a little richness. Barrel ferment components underwent lees stirring weekly and partial malolactic fermentation. Wines with appropriate aromatics, flavours and structure were selected and blended. After blending, the wine was stabilised, clarified and bottled under screwcap to preserve freshness, flavour and integrity. The blend contains around 7% barrel fermented wine.