TE WHARE RA SINGLE VINEYARD 5182 GEWÜRZTRAMINER 2024

Winery notes (2024 Vintage)
"Te Whare Ra has a long-standing reputation for producing one of New Zealand’s finest Gewürztraminers and much of the credit must go to the vineyard here. This wine is produced solely from 14 rows in the old block which were planted in 1979 and are some of the oldest vines in Marlborough at 45 years of age. Part of the reason for our conversion to organic farming was to rescue these old vines and coax them back to life. We saw huge potential in this old block and successfully rejuvenating these vines has been one of our greatest achievements. They are very low cropping, which is not great for the accountant’s numbers, but is worth it for the amazing complexity and concentration we get from the fruit and the exceptional quality of the resultant wines.

All fruit for this wine was hand-picked and then hand-sorted.  The fruit was de-stemmed and gently crushed, then given some good skin contact time before being slowly and gently air-bag pressed. The wine was fermented 100% in stainless steel.  The juice was fermented very slowly, at cool temperatures to retain aromatics.  All parcels spent time on lees, post ferment, for added texture and complexity. This wine has not been fined and is suitable for vegans and vegetarians and anyone else who loves authentic, hand-made wines.

Intensely perfumed, with notes of lychees, mango, ripe oranges and cloves.These lead into luscious varietal flavours of lychee and quince, with underlying characters of ginger and exotic spice. The palate shows intense fruit concentration and weight with a fine, soft texture and excellent persistence of flavour. This wine is off dry and continues the outstanding quality of previous vintages of our Te Whare Ra Gewürztraminer.

Harvest this year was very compact due to the dry season – with most of our crop off within the first 8 days. Our vintage team worked like a well-oiled machine to get it all in, so we are thrilled with both the quality and quantity this season. The resultant wines are very impressive with great depth of flavour and fleshiness whilst still exhibiting lovely purity of fruit.  This 2024 Gewürztraminer is delicious to drink now and will also really benefit from careful cellaring for 4 – 8 years for those who prefer it with some bottle age."

94+/100 Erin Larkin, RobertParker.com, Wine Advocate, June 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"The 2024 Gewürztraminer is made utilising fruit from the oldest Gewürztraminer vines in Marlborough, planted in 1979. The wine leads with lychee and lime oil, rose petals and ginger root. In fact, it tastes like the beautiful Turkish delight that I had at dessert last night, complete with that chalky texture that comes from the icing sugar. It has 16 grams per litre of residual sugar and is almost squeaky. The length of flavour through the finish is very good; it drags out the wine and makes it feel long and driven. The grapes are kept on skins overnight to help extract the phenolics from the wine, and this is used to drive the wine in place of acidity, which is inherently lower in this variety. It works. This is very good."

5 Stars & 96/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, April 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"The varietal expression is unmistakable and seductively appealing. The inviting bouquet shows mango, lychee, Turkish Delight, rich floral, and subtle spice notes. The succulent palate displays silky texture and finely pitched acidity, making it wonderfully harmonious with a prolonged, delicious finish. This is beautifully proportioned and detailed with a multi-layered mouthfeel, promising to evolve graciously. At its best: now to 2036."

Rated Excellent & 94/100 Cameron Douglas MS, April 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"Aromatic and fragrant with an elegant pure fruit bouquet. Gentle yet distinctive spices and soft herbaceous qualities. Aromas of fresh white fleshed fruits, citrus zest and peppery spices. Satin smooth on the palate with a core of ripe fleshy pomaceous fruits, a vibrant acid line and length, this wine is just simply delicious. Finishing just dry the best window for drinking is from day of purchase through 2028+."

5 Stars & 95/100 Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review (2024 Vintage)
"Arresting perfume of rose petals, rosewater and Turkish delight announces this textbook gewürztraminer. While clearly varietal, it is a cut above, with excellent aromatic depth and density. The palate is likewise impressively concentrated with persistent flavours of crystallised ginger, beeswax, honey and cantaloupe. Decadent yet poised, it displays excellent balance and lovely powdery-soft phenolic texture. The long finish reveals a medium-dry level of sweetness which was well-hidden by its other elements. Delicious and ready to go right now, yet the structure and concentration will certainly allow for mid-term cellaring. Drink 2025–2032."