NZ-Wide 
NZ-Wide
Free Shipping
Buy OnlineWinery notes (2025 Vintage)
"This wine pays tribute to David Herd, who established Marlborough’s first commercial vineyard and winery at Auntsfield in the 1870s. Using David’s original vineyard site and specific Muscat Clone, this wine is made by applying the Methode Ancestrale technique, which can be traced to production of the first sparkling wine “Blanquette de Limoux” in 1531. As in the 153o’s and 1870’s, fermentation with natural yeast is completed in bottle. The result is a wine that honours the foundational work of our ancestors and celebrates continued discovery and pleasure.
With each bottle being its own fermentation no two bottles are the same. With little sulphur in bottle, this wine evolves in the glass. Initially this wine has fresh aromas of fresh apple, elderflower, nashi pear with hints of mint, and wild honey. In the glass, the brighter apple and pear notes dissipate and reveal more of the Muscat floral and exotic spice aromas. The palate is light and lively with a fresh and crisp acidity. Light yeast lees in bottle give a generous weight to the palate, with a brioche and almond flavours complementing the floral varietal aromatics.
The historic Petits Grains Muscat block is exactly where it all started at Auntsfield in 1892. These vines are trained along the old wire and Manuka posts as they historically were. This block has the potential for heavy crops, so we spend a lot of time carefully removing leaves very early in the season before flowering to reduce the bunch sizes and number of berries that set. Each bunch is carefully tended to during the growing season as this variety is fragile and requires optimum conditions to fully express the incredible aromatics of Muscat."
Rated Excellent & 93/100 Cameron Douglas MS, October 2025 (2025 Vintage)
"A wine with a natural cloudiness upon opening as part of the traditional winemaking and style. A bouquet and palate of lees and citrus flesh, lemon peel and lime then mineral and wet stone chalky soil ideas. Crisp and dry, delicious with a core of citrus and lees flavours, great mouthfeel and charm, distinctively different, fresh and saline. The mousse sits nicely framing the fruit and carrying the flavours though the acid line as well. Best drinking from 2025 through 2028+."
