iona Sauvignon blanc 2022

. THESE WINES REPRESENT THE UNIQUE MESO CLIMATE OF THE IONA ELGIN HIGHLANDS. THIS ELEVATED PLATEAU SITTING AT AN AVERAGE OF 450m ABOVE SEA LEVEL IS HOME TO THE COOLEST VINEYARDS IN THE COUNTRY. Beautiful purity of limes and ripe gooseberry, with tropical, floral and fine herbal notes, ruby grapefruit and white pear drop on the finish. This is cool climate Sauvignon Blanc – vibrant, mineral, elegant, balanced and delicate, with a long, layered and complex finish

VINTAGE NOTES The 2022 vintage experienced a typical cold Elgin winter, with snow on the high mountain peaks and above average rainfall, which enabled good vine dormancy. Spring was characterised by cold and wet conditions, resulting in later bud break. The cold, wet and windy conditions continued into October and November causing uneven flowering. The uneven flowering resulted in smaller berries that have good concentration of flavours. From January to April we experienced exceptional weather for the ripening of grapes. The second part of the season was characterised by warm and dry weather conditions and very cold nighttime temperatures, which helped preserve the natural acid of the grapes. Late season disease was significantly less than previous years, allowing us to pick healthy grapes with wonderful intensity and concentration of flavours. The above average rainfall in winter and spring helped nourish the soils and helped the vine focus on grape ripening rather than vegetative growth, in the warmer conditions. The net result of the later vintage and weather conditions in 2022, is that grapes had high natural acidity, achieved steady phenolic ripeness and plenty of intense and concentrated flavours