• Dry style
• French oak
• Honeysuckle
• Florals

"A field blend blend of Pinot Gris, Riesling, Viognier and Gewürztraminer fermented together introduces individuality and complexity. All four grapes are aromatic varieties so it is hardly surprising that there is a strong floral character together with bright citrus notes. A lively wine with weight and a rich texture" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Jul 2023

"The 2022 vintage (4.5*) is a highly characterful blend of Riesling (62 per cent), Pinot Gris (34 percent), Viognier (3.6 per cent) and Gewürztraminer (0.4 per cent). Estate-grown and hand-harvested in the Raupo Creek Vineyard, in the Omaka Valley, the grapes were co-fermented in old French oak barriques. Bright, light yellow/green, it is a fresh, vigorous, medium-bodied wine, with very good intensity of peachy, citrusy, gently spicy flavours, considerable complexity, and a crisp, fully dry (0.5 grams/litre of residual sugar) finish" Michael Cooper, Jul 2023

Bringing together the very best attributes of our white aromatic varietals that grow beautifully on the Raupo vineyard, the Chiaroscuro is an ever changing blend that is full of personality and vitality. Notes of honeysuckle and citrus flowers come to the fore, with a delicate, vibrant, textural palate that finishes with focused citrus acidity. A dry wine.

Our clay rich Raupo Creek vineyard, farmed following organic and biodynamic principles is located in the centre of the Omaka Valley. This vineyard has a gentle north-west facing aspect and enjoys high sunshine hours and minimal rain.

2022 will be remembered for its challenging nature, which kept us on our toes after a run of remarkably effortless vintages in a row. Dry, stable weather and over flowering lead to an abundant fruit set, and with consistent small rain events we enjoyed fantastic vigour across the whole vineyard. Leading into the harvest period the region endured some significant rainfall events, which increased berry and bunch size, but also disease pressure, unfortunately. Luckily we had an excellent team working tirelessly in the vineyard to mitigate this and also crop thin throughout the whole vineyard, with an extra focus on the Pinot Noir. We started picking Pinot Noir on 16th March and finished picking with a botrytis style Riesling on 19th May. It must be said, after the early and fast and furious nature of the previous vintages, a vintage that was a touch later and spread out between each variety was really welcomed. With a great picking team and a focus solely on the Raupo Creek vineyard, we were able to pick each plot before any real disease pressure took a hold.

By the end of March there came a moment where all our aromatic varietals – Pinot Gris, Riesling, Viognier and Gewürztraminer were ripe, so we hand harvested each varietal and combined the fruit in the field, then transported to the winery whereby it was whole bunch pressed. The juice was left to settle naturally, then transferred to a mixture of neutral barriques to undertake fermentation naturally. A long, consistent fermentation took place – 3 months. Each barrel was then topped, and left to rest for a total of 7 months. The barrels were blended into a stainless steel tank to stabilise and filter prior to bottling.