Gladstone Vineyard, a boutique winery located in New Zealand, has announced it will offer its two recent vintages through En Primeur, given the limited quantities especially after the 2021 vintage’s yields were down by 50% due to challenging weather conditions.
Allocations of the 2020 and 2021 vintages from the Wairarapa-based winery will be available from now until October 31 and will include four of the estate’s wines, which are 340 Blanc 2020 & 2021, Estate Pinot Noir 2021, Dakins Road Pinot Noir 2021, and Blairpatrick Pinot Noir 2021.
The wines are made by Wairarapa native Monty Petrie, and most recently Steve Flamsteed, one of Australia’s most influential Pinot Noir winemakers, has joined the winery as an advisor.
“At Gladstone Vineyard we launched our prestige winemaking program back in 2019 with the view of launching the en-primeur in 2022,” says Eddie McDougall, aka “The Flying Winemaker” who bought the estate in 2018. “Our winemaking mandate is simple: do not compromise on anything that will prevent us from making world class wines. To achieve this we have invested heavily in our winemaking talent and vineyard resources which work closely together on a year round basis.”
“This year’s en-primeur offer will see the release of two vintages (2020/2021) of the 340 Blanc which is a field blend from our 1986 vineyard and a range of the 2021 Pinot Noirs. We are particularly excited about the 2021 Pinot Noirs as that truly reflects the results of our hard work over the last 3 years which mirrors the impact from Steve Flamsteed and Monty Petrie’s involvement in the winemaking process,” he continued.
‘Greatest Cellaring Potential‘
According to the winery, the 2021 vintage produced “concentrated wines” with “the greatest cellaring potential” thanks to the small crop.
During the flowering season, the region was hit with strong winds, heavy rainfall and cool weather which reduced yields by 50%. In 2021, New Zealand in general suffered a 19% crop drop, with regions like Wairarapa, Marlborough, Nelson, and North Canterbury being hit the hardest.
The second half of the season showed some promise as the level of consistency in weather patterns aided the bunch development across the all blocks. “The low yields ultimately meant concentrated wines were made in 2021 suggesting that these wines will have the greatest cellaring potential,” says the winery.
The original owners of Gladstone Vineyard first started the vineyard as a hobby farm with 2.7 hectares of vines planted to Sauvignon Blanc. In 1996, the property was then sold to the Kernohan family who implemented sustainable vineyard practices. In the early 2000s the Kernohans commenced their expansion plans to satisfy the growing demand for Gladstone Vineyard wines by increasing the vineyard holdings of Pinot Noir and building a new winery.
In 2018, Eddie McDougall, acquired Gladstone Vineyard with the view to write the next exciting chapter of this prestigious wine estate.
Gladstone Vineyard now manages and collaborates with several premium vineyards and growers across the Wairarapa and Hawkes’ Bay; diversifying the estate’s portfolio of wines.
