SW1-W - Hawkes Bay - Sauvignon Blanc - 10.5%

The Supernatural 2022 is a direct continuation, still from the same vineyard and made in essentially the same way but without bentonite. This is a more transparent expression and a smaller production, of course. six hours on skins, wild-fermentation with no sulphur except a minimal 20ppm dose at bottling to help it travel. The wine is at once softer in fruit expression (lees-stirred every new moon for eight months while ageing in tank) but also very reflective of the vintage with its crunchy, green- fruit notes rather than more typical tropical profile. Whilst less powerful and with less cellaring potential than usual for this wine, it is refreshingly and surprisingly salty on the finish where the phenolics, high acidity and minerality converge into a crystalline and delicately etched finish. Chromatically (if your palate works that way), the fruit profile this year is more white-green than its usual yellow-gold. I would recommend this for drinking over the coming two years or so and expect the salinity to keep it interesting and balanced across that time.

Score: 16.5 – a very good bottle showing traits of fine wine

The Supernatural:

• 100% Hawke’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc

• Grapes harvested by Pellenc harvester with optical sorter (hand pick quality)

• Soaked on skins for 6 hours before pressing

• Spontaneous fermentation

• Full malolactic fermentation & 10 months on lees

• No additions planned other than minimal sulphur at bottling – approx. 20ppm

• Unfined and coarse filtration only (rockstopper)

SW2-W - Muscat & Marsanne - Hawkes Bay - 10%

Greg had the opportunity to work with the legendary Millton Vineyards in Gisborne for the two next wines, The Green Glow and The Paranormal. Unlike previous Green Glows, which came from the Millar Road vineyard, The Green Glow 2022 comes from Millton’s biodynamic vineyards and is a very aromatic blend. 63% Muscat and 33% Marsanne coming from the Opou vineyard, livened with 4% Chenin Blanc for some acidity. De-stemmed without crushing, it was whole berry-fermented for 5 days with some carbonic, then pressed to tank for ferment. After ferment, it was transferred to demi-muids for 8 months. Very aromatic, lighter with healthily balanced acidity for the varietal mix and that famously savoury, positive corruption which James Millton used to refer to. Lovely crunchy phenolics create the base for its satisfyingly pliant texture with a planar, lightweight palate which no doubt reflects its low 10% alcohol. Lots of seed spice earthiness, vetiver. Surprisingly soft and approachable for an orange wine.

Score 16 – a very good wine on every front, guaranteed pleasure

Green Glow Gisborne (aka ’The Three Gees’):

• a blend of July Muscat (63%) and Marsanne (37%) sourced from Millton in Gisborne

• Grapes hand harvested from Millton’s Opou vineyard

• Destemmed without crushing to cuvé

• Spontaneous fermentation with yeasts indigenous to the Millton winery

• Skin-fermented for 7 days then pressed to tank for remainder of fermentation

• Full malolactic fermentation

• 8 months on lees in a mix of older 600L demi muid barrels and tank, with lees stirring during new moon phases

• total sulphur at bottling 45ppm

Muscat and Marsanne were both hand picked from our Opou vineyard, destemmed without crushing to cuvé, and fermented for 7 days with indigenous yeast. Then pressed to tank for the remainder of ferment.

SW1-R - Syrah & Malec - Hawkes Bay - 11.5%

The Paranormal 2022 has everything that Gregory and Hayden had intended for the debut version but circumstances (like the pandemic) prevented them from achieving. Weighing in at a refreshingly light 10.8% alcohol, this wine is a conundrum of bright, wildly natural wine, and some outrageously serious fruit, which I’ll explain shortly. What started life as roughly a half/half blend of Syrah and Malbec from Millton’s Te Arai vineyard, it took a turn towards the serious when the amount of Syrah was doubled due to the unprecedented addition of their phenomenal Crucible Syrah from the Clos de Ste.-Anne vineyard, ultimately making it 65% Syrah (half of which is Crucible) and 35% Malbec. The Te Arai portions underwent carbonic maceration in wooden cuvés with 30% whole bunches – the Syrah for 7 days and the Malbec for 10 days. The result is a very soft, fruit-driven, cherry tomatoes and crunchy style of red with some lightly peppery tannins on the end. Designed to be served chilled, it is a mouth-watering, light, fresh and lively but surprisingly complex wine that screams natural. If you have a sensitivity to volatile acidity, do note that this has a noticeable amount of it, but it suits the wine and is not out of character for the style.

Score: 16.5 – a very good bottle showing traits of fine wine

Both the Syrah and Malbec were hand-picked, the Malbec from our Te Arai vineyard and the Syrah from Opou vineyard in our Clos de Ste Anne vineyard. Malbec was carbonic fermented in wooden cuvée with 30% whole bunches for 10 days before being pressed to tank to finish ferment, Syrah was carbonic fermented for 7 days with 30% whole bunches before pressing.

SW2-R - Pinot Noir - Hawkes Bay - 13%

The fourth and final wine of the lineup is also the standout. The Quiet Earth 2022 is a collaboration with Lance Redgewell at Cambridge Road in Martinborough. There were a few iterations along the way (I was lucky enough to try one of them and can attest that the final result is a vast improvement) but ultimately, the wine combines Pinot Noir from the Cirrus Estate vineyard with a Pinot Noir Syrah blend from the Cambridge Road vineyard (where the two varieties are planted together). This makes it 93% Pinot Noir and 7% Syrah with a combined total of 37% whole cluster fermentation and partial carbonic maceration. The cuvaison ranged from 14 to 25 days on skins depending on the portion and the wine shows a clear backbone and structure whilst still retaining a lot of elegance and a clearly-defined jawline. Aged in tank, there is no oak to detract from the fabulously concentrated, spicy, classical Martinborough Pinot Noir flavours, elevated by the fresh, floral chewiness of cool-climate Syrah. A wine which comfortably straddles sweet fruit and savoury complexity with great control, it successfully blurs the lines between fine and natural wine; contemplative one minute and brightly effusive the next. A fantastic debut and hopefully not the last time we see this made.

Score: 17.5 – a very fine wine, flirting with greatness

Vineyards – Cirrus Estate (Dry River Gravel alluvial fan) Cambridge Road (Marlborough Terrace)

Whole Bunch Components 37%

Total Sulphites 25ppm