Millton ‘Te Arai’ Gisborne Chenin Blanc 2021

Millton Vineyard was built by James and Annie Millton, who have been growing wine in Manutuke on the banks of the Te Arai river in Gisborne since 1984. The vineyard has since became the first biodynamic estate in New Zealand, and the first in the Southern Hemisphere to gain Demeter certification.

Farmed from inception in this manner, it was built on the backbone of family winegrowing in the area, with both James and Annie’s parents having vines in what is now known as “Opou” and “Riverpoint”. The Clos de Ste. Anne is a single vineyard situated on steep north-facing slopes in the foothills of Poverty Bay. The grapes are all hand harvested and fermented with indigenous yeasts present in the vineyard. The estate is mostly known for their Chenin Blanc – a benchmark for the country, but they also grow wonderful Chardonnay, Viognier, Gewurztraminer.

In 2019 the winemakers did four selections from the vineyard of hand-harvested the grapes. On the crush pad, the stems are discarded as these grapes give up their juice very easily during the long slow press cycle. The juice is collected together and allowed to settle for only a short time as we wish to keep the fine sediments, for it is here that all the nutrients lie which satisfy a well-behaved fermentation. A small portion of the fermented juice spent significantly longer time on skins, extract extra colour, flavours and phenolics. This portion is blended back into the rest after ageing.

The fermentation and maturation take place in demi-muids (large 600-litre oak barrels) and stainless steel tanks. The wine matures in these vessels over time, and without the obtrusion of oak tannins, retaining the aroma to be almost entirely from the fruit.

It’s a rich, powerful example of the variety – one that the Milltons are extremely proud of. Even though there is a flagship wine of Millton at higher level, known as ‘Clos de Ste. Anne’ Chenin Blanc, but at his price, this wine is already the benchmark for Chenin Blanc in NZ and one of the best in the New World.