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The Wines
BALVONIE MARLBOROUGH PROSECCO 2024
Light silvery yellow in colour with a persistent sparkling bead. Bright Meyer lemon, rock melon and orange blossom aromas are laced with vanilla custard and shortcrust notes. The palate is generously layered with flavours of quince, red apple and pear tarte tatin. Fresh acidity gives an attractive lift to the long finish.
BALVONIE MARLBOROUGH PROSECCO ROSÉ 2025
Attractive aromas of fresh mandarin and citrus blossom scents move into red berries atop crunchy pavlova. It’s a generous palate, with strawberry and cream flavours spiked by crisp red apple notes and a touch of praline brioche. Lively acidity and a very persistent bead contributes to a long and sophisticated finish.
BALVONIE MARLBOROUGH PINOT NOIR 2024
Dense garnet in colour with a soft blush rim. Lifted aromas of crushed red berries, liquorice all-sorts, leather and a touch of tobacco. The palate is an abundance of Stella cherry and crunchy plum flavours, with a touch of cedar box and black iris florals. The chewy tannins are well integrated, with fresh acidity and a flourish of minerality giving structure to the generous finish.
Viticulture
Balvonie Vineyard is naturally fertile thanks in part to its previous life as a horse paddock.
Balvonie's two Glera blocks were developed with minimal intervention, leaving the majority of its pastural land in place. Mid row, sub surface irrigation forces roots to delve deep and explore its site. A habitually prolific variety, Balvonie Glera has been trained to two canes to encourage a balanced canopy.
Tandem Block is the singular source of Balvonie Pinot Noir. Within it, seven clones were planted at random with high density 1.2m spacing. The 330 vines have been trained to unilateral cordon and spur pruned.
Both the Balvonie glera and pinot noir fruit are harvested by hand - at ideal ripeness - hand sorted, then transferred to the winery in small crates to protect their pristine, whole bunch condition.
Glera Winemaking
Grapes were chilled overnight prior to a gentle whole bunch pressing, with only the free run juice retained for Balvonie Prosecco. Fermented with nutcracker yeast, the base wine was cold stabilised before being transferred to bottle for its method traditional secondary fermentation. A technique utilised for its production of fine and persistent sparkle, the wine was held on yeast lees for two months to further develop mouth feel whilst respecting Prosecco’s renowned fresh style.
Pinot Noir Winemaking
Grapes were chilled overnight prior to a gentle destemming. A high proportion of whole berries was retained and the fruit enjoyed a seven day cold soak before being transferred to a warm room for indigenous fermentation. The juice was hand plunged daily, increasing to twice a day during the peak of its wild ferment. Wine was kept on skins for a further week, then pressed to a combination of seasoned French oak and stainless steel.
Vessels were kept topped whilst the wine underwent natural malolactic fermentation, then allowed to rest for nine months until an ideal balance of aromatics and palate weight was achieved. Balvonie Pinot Noir 2024 was racked and stabilised, then bottled by hand both unfined and unfiltered. A natural sediment may be present.
Why Glera, why Prosecco?
After witnessing Prosecco’s rise in popularity whist living in the UK, the McLauchlan’s were curious how Glera would adapt to the Marlborough climate. Following a suite of cooperative trials with Ormond Nursery (New Zealand’s sole grafter of Glera grapevines), Ben and Helen were convinced of its suitability. 600 vines were hand-planted in the spring of 2021 and the variety proved a champion in the free-draining soils of their Rapaura vineyard. The loose architecture of the grape bunches has naturally deterred disease and, over its characteristicly extended ripening season, the large clusters are allowed to develop fully.
In addition to Glera, Balvonie is planted in Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The majority of Ben and Helen’s grapes are contracted to respected Marlborough wineries, contributing to some exemplary Marlborough wine. Over the years, a few parcels have been identified as extra special and will become the foundation of Balvonie wine in due course.
The Sparkle
The bubble affiliated with sparkling wine can be achieved in a variety of ways including carbonation, tank, transfer and traditional methods. The most elaborate and revered technique is method tradtional, also known as méthode traditionelle or méthode Champenoise (Champagne Method). This technique sees the finished wine sold in the same bottle that the wine’s second fermentation (bubble creation) was created. Prior to release, the wine is riddled, disgorged and finished with a dosage.
Balvonie Marlborough Prosecco is produced through the method traditional technique. This method was chosen for Balvonie’s second fermentation thanks to Ben & Helen’s unwavering commitment to quality. Already boutique and hands-on in its production, this classic technique ensures a persistent and fine bead is achieved in Balvonie’s finished wine. Prosecco is renowned for its core of pome fruit flavours – think apples, pears and quince - lively citrus and bountiful freshness. Balvonie Prosecco balances the refined qualities achieved by method traditional sparkling production with the purity and approachability of the glera grape varietal.
