Winery notes (2021 Vintage)
"Aromas of honey, pears and bee’s wax. A hint of warm wool and starched linen. Clipped stone minerality. The savoury acidity holds true all the way through and the austere dry textured tannins are refreshing, while a quincelike fruit flavour gives lift and great length to the overall taste.
Clos de Ste. Anne is a single vineyard situated on steep northeast facing slopes in the foothills of Poverty Bay. From a section of the vineyard which is referred to as ‘La Bas’ which kind of means “over there” we have a planting of Chenin Blanc.
Within this little vineyard we make separate selections, pressed according to the profile of skin thickness, seed ripeness and mouth feel. The moon plays a part in this process as well. Whole clusters are gently pressed and we let the juice start fermenting on its own accord. Once this process is going and we know the yeasts are healthy we transfer the juice to large 600 litre demi muids barrels, where it stays for nine months until time for bottling. We don’t do anything except to discourage any malolactic fermentation as we want the wine to have nerve and a chipped stone minerality from the retained malic acid. Aging ‘sur lie’ for these nine months gives texture and depth to the palate and a quince like character to the nose.
This wine is complete; the acidity holds true all the way through. There are aromas of honey, pears and bees wax and quince paste with a hint of warm wool and starched linen. The savoury acidity and austere dry textured tannin are refreshing, while a quince-like fruit flavour gives lift and great length to the overall taste. This wine will evolve beautifully, and gain honeyed richness, over the next dozen or so years. In the world of wine this Chenin Blanc has its own place."
Rated Outstanding & 95/100 Cameron Douglas MS, May 2023 (2021 Vintage)
"Authentic, natural, classic and true to the Millton story of fine wine. Aromas and flavours of fresh baked apple, there’s a waxy fruit skin quality and delicate scents of lanolin and white spice, mineral and white flower. Dry on the palate with a silky smooth texture. There’s just a few grams of residual sugar that contrast the back bone of acidity and stretches the textures across the palate evenly. Delicious, new, varietal and complex. best drinking from 2023 through 2033+."