TE WHARE RA SINGLE VINEYARD 5182 PINOT GRIS 2024

Occasionally we come across a Pinot Gris that really makes us sit up. This is one. Te Whare Ra are a Certified BioGro, boutique Marlborough producer, crafting small quantities of exceptional wines. This Pinot Gris is certainly one to realise the difference quality can make to this often ubiquitous variety.

Winery notes (2024 Vintage)
"We are hugely passionate about aromatic varieties and particularly those from Alsace so it was only a matter of time until we took on the challenge of Pinot Gris. When we first bought the property here, we replanted a section of the old block with the Berry-Smith clone (also known as Larkham clone) of Pinot Gris. We selected this particular clone especially for its low cropping, small bunches and small berries as we felt it would deliver the best quality fruit.

Pinot Gris is the “sister” of Pinot Noir and shares many of its familial “issues”. It is quite crop sensitive and we feel that to get the best out of it you really have to go the extra mile in the vineyard. So like Pinot Noir it is all shoot-thinned, and bunch thinned and we often remove the bunch shoulders as well. This means that we can get it into the winery with lovely fruit purity as well as concentration.

This wine is finely structured with great purity & length of flavour and a lovely fleshiness. Lifted aromas of nashi pear, honeysuckle, red apple and white florals follow on to flavours of the same along with savoury undertones which are balanced by fine, supple texture and lingering minerality. This release is a dry style which has concentration, balance and great texture with layers of flavour."

5 Stars & 95/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, April 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"This wine is elegant and beautifully balanced, showcasing flavours of apricot, Asian pear, Gala apple, and delicate white floral notes, with a hint of almond meal. On the palate, it is succulent and well-defined, offering excellent weight and a fleshy texture, along with a wonderfully long and refined finish. It’s a serious Pinot Gris that is both enticing and immediately appealing. At its best: now to 2034."

93/100 Erin Larkin, RobertParker.com, The Wine Advocate (2024 Vintage)
"The 2024 Pinot Gris leads with lemon barley and cut pear, and green apple emerges alongside white flowers and white pepper. The bunches of this clone are smaller, with smaller berries that are exposed early, and the grapes can be picked a little earlier. The dappled exposure to the elevated UV here helps to thicken the skins on the berries. I attribute the texture and focus of this wine largely to the clones in the vineyard; however, there is a barrel-ferment portion that opens up the shape and provides some chew. A lovely wine, it’s quite different from many of the Pinot Gris wines here in Marlborough, which tend toward ample and voluminous."

Rated Outstanding & 95/100 Cameron Douglas MS, April 2025 (2024 Vintage)
"Aromatic and engaging with scents of fresh brown pear and red apple, there’s a fine just ripe quince idea, lots of lees complexities and a fine layer of fruit spice. Delicious on the palate, textured and new, flavours of pomaceous fruits with a touch of citrus. The lees quality from the bouquet follows through onto the palate enhanced by the acid line which is ripe, refreshing and with salivating effect. Youthful and taut still, a lovely example to enjoy from late 2025 through 2030."