Martello Rock 2021

In the Vineyard:

Once again, the effect of lockdowns saw a smaller team at work in the vineyard, without our usual international backpacker support and winter pruning, all done by hand, was particularly challenging. A very early budburst gave us a very long flowering period this vintage, something experienced in most grape growing regions in the country. Veraison (colour change and softening of the berries) also was extraordinarily early, so in an unprecedented move, we started netting even before the end of December. 

Our vineyard team did their usual meticulous job of creating an open vine canopy by removing excess foliage by hand to allow air movement to dry the fruit and allow sunlight penetration. We are clearly reaping the benefits of the application over many years of organic soil health-enhancing products, producing healthier vines which can better withstand disease.

Although the drought conditions of 2020 were not repeated in 2021, we were able to carefully monitor the developing fruit ripeness through a warm summer and hand harvest an exceptional quality crop. As with most regions in the country, our yield for this vintage was generally 20% less than the previous year, a reflection of a cooler spring during the flowering period.

In the Winery:

In the winery, each of the 4 varieties was destemmed and crushed separately into small open-top fermenters. A selected yeast instigated fermentation, with the rising ‘cap’ of skins initially hand-plunged four times daily. As alcoholic fermentation proceeded, the plunging regime was decreased to avoid over-extraction.

After a period of post-fermentation maceration to add structure and balance, the wine was racked, the skins gently pressed, settled, then aged in new, 1 and 2 year old French oak barriques. After 12 months, selected barriques were blended,  bottled without fining and then bottle-aged before release.