Ra Nui Wines
Sauvignon Blanc
To make this wine Sauvignon grapes were sourced from three quite unique Wairau Valley vineyards. Two are Ra Nui vineyards, Cob Cottage and Summer Valley. The Cob Cottage vineyard lies in the South Eastern corner of the Wairau Valley, on the road just south of the township of Blenheim. The soil here is a mixture of gravel and sandy loam areas with some clay components. The Summer Valley vineyard lies 800 meters to the south of Cob Cottage and is a particularly warm block with fine loess soils and a raised northerly aspect. The third vineyard is owned by our long term friends and growers, the Roughan Lee’s. They run a small vineyard that lies between the township of Renwick, in the heart of the Wairau Valley, and the banks of the Omaka River. This vineyard is one of the earliest planted in the Wairau Valley and is comprised of stony, free draining soils with natural low fertility.
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Clear, brilliant pale straw. The nose exhibits zesty citrus characters which then give way to more dominant tropical fruit characters, passionfruit and mango. On the palate herbaceous, bone dry with crisp acidity, silken texture and a lengthy finish. Classic Marlborough Sauvignon.
Chardonnay
Grapes were sourced from a single vineyard, in the Wairau Valley. This vineyard is comprised of stony free draining soils of low natural fertility with Mendoza and Clone 95 , two high quality Chardonnay clones planted. The vineyard is long established and run on organic principles.
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Clear/pale straw with green hints. The nose exhibits stone fruit and citrus characters with a hint of oak. On the palate apple, pear and white peach flavours, crisp and pure flavours. A lighter Chardonnay style, food friendly with recognisable cool climate crispness on the finish.
Pinot Noir
The fruit was all hand picked in perfect condition between 25 March and 4 April 2010. Hand picked into small bins the grapes were immediately transported to the winery and on arrival were placed directly into a desteemer/crusher and into small open topped fermenters. We then gave the must a cold soak for three days, with regular hand plunging, this aids extraction of colour and tannins.
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The must was then warmed in order to start fermentation, and over this period hand plunging continued to break up the cap. After fermentation the wine was pressed off into French 225 litre barriques, primarily one to four year old barriques, with 10% new. The wine was then aged for 9 months, with regular scrutiny and any topping up of barrels that was needed. The wine was fined with egg whites for clarity, prior to blending the various clones and bottling.
The wine was stored for three months prior to release.
Maid's Quarters
Special Edition - Single Vineyard Range
At Ra Nui we have put years of effort into locating, planting and nurturing uniquely favoured vineyards in the Marlborough region. Our Limited Edition range, includes single vineyard wines from our Cob Cottage Home Vineyard, the label featuring the image of our cellar door, the Maid's Quarters. These small batch wines are unique and will reward careful cellaring. Very limited production.