The highlights or maybe lowlights of the growing season leading up to the 2021 harvest were a challenging frost season and some average weather at flowering. The frost, was easier to deal with, inflicting very little to the end wine. The cold, wet weather at flowering was a different story and resulted in producing less fruit than normal. Frost and flowering aside, this season was fine, warm, and nicely spread rain so no concerns over water stress. The flip side of lower than desired crops is superb quality fruit that was clean and ripe and delivered to the winery earlier than ever before. The classic Marlborough autumn came on the weather front with warm sunny days and cool nights, allowing the fruit for ranga ranga to slowly build the concentration and varietal character that the region is renowned for.
There is minimal intervention, especially with the 2021 ranga ranga. The fruit out of the 2021 vintage was amazing and on arrival at the winery, it was a straight shot of crush, ferment, filter, and bottle.
Intense super-ripe citrus fruits and floral citrus blossom with a drying mown grass and herb tone lead off the aromatics followed by a light briny character that is savory and slightly smoky. The palate sees a mouth-watering attack with juicy, ripe citrus brightness, leading to a balanced mid-palate full of kiwi and ripe limes seasoned with dried herbs. It then heads towards a finish that is long and flavorful and heads right back to the start being so mouth-wateringly juicy.
Due to the complexity and layers found in ranga, the wine lends itself to pairing with meaty fishes, chicken, pasta in either cream or tomato sauce, and fresh vegetable salads.