2025 SV Gewürztraminer

Name: 2025 SV Gewürztraminer
SKU: 5100
Availability: InStock

$40.00

Te Whare Ra has a long-standing reputation for producing one of New Zealand’s finest Gewürztraminers and much of the credit must really go to the vineyard here. This wine is produced solely from 14 rows in the old block which were planted by the Hogan’s in 1979 and are the oldest vines in Marlborough at 46 years of age.

Part of the reason for our conversion to organic farming was to rescue these old vines and coax them back to life. We saw huge potential in this old block and successfully rejuvenating these vines has been one of our greatest achievements. They are very low cropping, which is not great for the accountant’s numbers, but is worth it for the amazing complexity and concentration we get from the fruit and the exceptional quality of the resultant wines.

Tasting Notes

Winemaking: All fruit for this wine was hand-picked and then hand-sorted. The fruit was de-stemmed and gently crushed, then given some good skin contact time before being slowly and gently air-bag pressed. The wine was fermented 100% in stainless steel. The juice was fermented very slowly, at cool temperatures to retain aromatics. All parcels spent time on lees, post ferment, for added texture and complexity. This wine has not been fined and is suitable for vegans and vegetarians and anyone else who loves authentic, hand-made wines.

Wine: Intensely perfumed, with notes of lychees, mango, ripe oranges and cloves. These lead into luscious varietal flavours of lychee and quince, with underlying characters of ginger and exotic spice. The palate shows intense fruit concentration and weight with a fine, soft texture and excellent persistence of flavour. This wine is off dry and continues the outstanding quality of previous vintages of our Te Whare Ra Gewürztraminer.

Vintage 2025: Over the spring we experienced favourable conditions over flowering which is really important for Gewurz as it’s very susceptible to poor flowering. This meant we had a nice, even set which always bodes well for very balanced, harmonious wines. We had no issues with frost and the summer that followed gave us some regular rain events to retain good soil moisture, so no irrigation was required. The latter half of summer was very warm and dry which meant that the lead up to harvest was nice and gentle. Our harvest began on track with our long-term averages starting in mid – March and was completed by the first week in April.

The resultant wines are very impressive with great depth of flavour and fleshiness whilst still exhibiting lovely purity of fruit, bright aromatics, and ripe, juicy acidity.

This 2025 Gewürztraminer is delicious to drink now and will also really benefit from careful cellaring for 4 – 8 years for those who prefer it with some bottle age.

Download Wine Details PDF

Reviews

2025 Vintage – to come

2024 Vintage

94+ Points – Erin Larkin for Robert Parker The 2024 Gewürztraminer is made utilizing fruit from the oldest Gewürztraminer vines in Marlborough, planted in 1979. The wine leads with lychee and lime oil, rose petals and ginger root. In fact, it tastes like the beautiful Turkish delight that I had at dessert last night, complete with that chalky texture that comes from the icing sugar. It has 16 grams per liter of residual sugar and is almost squeaky. The length of flavor through the finish is very good; it drags out the wine and makes it feel long and driven. The grapes are kept on skins overnight to help extract the phenolics from the wine, and this is used to drive the wine in place of acidity, which is inherently lower in this variety. It works. This is very good.

95 Points – Stephen Wong MW The Real Review Arresting perfume of rose petals, rosewater and Turkish delight announces this textbook gewürztraminer. While clearly varietal, it is a cut above, with excellent aromatic depth and density. The palate is likewise impressively concentrated with persistent flavours of crystallised ginger, beeswax, honey and cantaloupe. Decadent yet poised, it displays excellent balance and lovely powdery-soft phenolic texture. The long finish reveals a medium-dry level of sweetness which was well-hidden by its other elements. Delicious and ready to go right now, yet the structure and concentration will certainly allow for mid-term cellaring. Drink 2025–2032

94 Points Excellent – Cameron Douglas MS Aromatic and fragrant with an elegant pure fruit bouquet. Gentle yet distinctive spices and soft herbaceous qualities. Aromas of fresh white fleshed fruits, citrus zest and peppery spices. Satin smooth on the palate with a core of ripe fleshy pomaceous fruits, a vibrant acid line and length, this wine is just simply delicious. Finishing just dry the best window for drinking is from day of purchase through 2028+.

96 Points 5 Stars – Sam Kim Wine Orbit The varietal expression is unmistakable and seductively appealing. The inviting bouquet shows mango, lychee, Turkish Delight, rich floral, and subtle spice notes. The succulent palate displays silky texture and finely pitched acidity, making it wonderfully harmonious with a prolonged, delicious finish. This is beautifully proportioned and detailed with a multi-layered mouthfeel, promising to evolve graciously. At its best: now to 2036.