Gold Medal – National Wine Awards of Aotearoa New Zealand 2024
Although established in 1989, Spencer Hill in Moutere, Nelson has had a relatively low profile in recent years. You may recognise the signature vine cutting attached to the neck of the bottle for the Latitude 41 range.
In 2019 Spencer Hill's winemaker Matt Rutherford purchased the winery from founder Phil Jones and promoted the assistant winemaker Jules Randell to head winemaker. There has been a renewed focus on producing a solid range of wines that offer great quality at affordable pricing. It is a formula that seems to be working as the two wines on offer this week attest.
Another tweak is that the wines are now all sealed with a screw cap rather than the plastic Zork seal that Phil was keen on. It is great to have Spencer Hill wines back on our shelves.
Grown on heavier clay soils and with a portion aged on lees in oak, this is a relatively serious Pinot Gris. Drier in style with plenty of pear/spice flavours, the French oak and lees aging providing a hint of vanilla and cream.