Supernatural Wine Co. The Supernatural Sauvignon Blanc 2020

Viticulture

This estate vineyard is truly an amazing site for viticulture, situated in the Tuki Tuki Hills in Hawke’s Bay on a north-facing hillside with slopes up to 30 degrees. Soils are Kidnappers Group lime rich clay, with volcanic influence. The site has proven pedigree being in proximity to and on similar soils, slope and aspect as Te Mata Coleraine, one of New Zealand’s most accoladed vineyards. Over 90% of New Zealand’s vineyards are on flat land which generally means alluvial gravel soils, making this hillside site an unusual soil type of great interest. Harvest is by machine using a Pellenc selective head harvester which ensures a high quality of fruit while excluding all other materials.

Vinification

Harvest is by machine using a Pellenc selective head harvester which ensures a high quality of fruit while excluding all other materials.  Six hours soaking on skins before gentle pressing. Settled overnight at 15°C before racking off heavy lees.  Fermented with indigenous yeast at cool temperatures. Full, natural malolactic fermentation and extensive lees contact and stirring for 12 months. Prepared for bottling with a minimal sulphur addition. Unfined. Coarse Filtration only.

Tasting notes

The nose is restrained, faintly tropical, partly herbal, predominantly mineral and leaning to oxidative in a beguiling way. The palate is more forward and giving than some previous renditions, wrapped in an upfront creaminess and peppery spice. The generous front-palate tapers down to a crunchy celery salt finish.

Winery Description

PROFILE
Supernatural Wine Co. is a producer of certified organic, naturally vinified, low sulfur white and skin-fermented white wines from a north-facing hillside estate in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.  Supernatural Wine Co. obtained full organic certification with BioGro New Zealand (www.biogro.co.nz) in March 2015 and commenced biodynamic farming practices in 2015.  

Supernatural Wine Co.'s philosophy relies on great terroir and traditional processes.  Their aim is to make all their wines as naturally as possible to produce true terroir driven wines.  They use indigenous yeast gathered from their vineyard for fermentation and add nothing to the wines other than a little sulfur before bottling.  They do not fine our wines and they have not filtered the 2015 skin-fermented wines.  They want to focus on producing dry aromatic and skin-fermented white wines in a very clean and direct style.  

REGION
Hawke's Bay is the oldest wine region in New Zealand and the second largest. Hawke’s Bay’s maritime climate is similar to Bordeaux but cooler, producing a more vibrant Sauvignon Blanc style that is versatile and food-friendly.  The wine style falls somewhere between Bordeaux, Loire and New Zealand and it has its own unique and appealing character.

VINEYARD
The Supernatural vineyard at Millar Road has proven pedigree being in proximity to and on similar soils, slope and aspect as Te Mata Coleraine, one of New Zealand’s most accoladed vineyards.  Over 90% of New Zealand’s vineyards are on flat land with alluvial gravel soils, so this soil and site produce very distinctive wines in a New Zealand context.
   
The vineyard is an amazing site for viticulture being situated on a north-facing hillside with slopes up to 30 degrees.  Soils are lime-rich clay with volcanic influence – they are classified as Matapiro sandy loam over Kidnappers Group sandstone and carbonaceous mudstone.   

The Millar Road property is 19.4 hectares, with 8.9 hectares planted in vines – 8.0 hectares Sauvignon Blanc (18,000 plants) and 0.9 hectares Pinot Gris (1,800 plants).  Vines were planted in 2004 and 2005.