Flowerday flair burns bright with new Sauvignon Blanc & Gewürz
It was a Goldilocks vintage for Marlborough, according to Anna and Jason Flowerday of TWR. Not too hot, not too cold and a welcome follow-up to the drought-hit, low-cropping vintage that preceded it. Great conditions in spring led to great flowering, in turn bringing good, even set and moderate crops. The summer that followed was nice, warm and gentle with no hefty heat spikes. “The resultant wines have great depth of flavour and fleshiness with purity of fruit, bright aromatics and ripe, juicy acidity,” says Anna.
With the arrival this month of the new Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer, we’ve now rolled onto three 2020 whites, all looking splendid. But then again, such is the dedication and precision chez Flowerday, everything always is.
As Mike Bennie of The Wine Front put it back in January, “They never put a foot wrong at TWR.”
2020 TWR Sauvignon Blanc $30
Our 2020 release shows distinctive Awatere characters of guava, white currant, and elderflower coupled with lovely ripe passionfruit and tropical notes and hints of basil and lime from the Wairau fruit. These follow through to the palate – which is fine and soft with loads of fleshy fruit balanced by a ripe, juicy acidity and lingering minerality. There is real fruit weight here and that is complimented by lovely texture from the time on lees and the barrel parcels. It is utterly delicious! – Anna Flowerday, TWR
The intensity and freshness here is hard to beat in this hotly contested category, and the intensity of peach, green-mango, lime and grapefruit flavors is impressive. Long, juicy and mouthwateringly fresh. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
93 points. Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com
2020 TWR ‘Toru’ SV 5182 $32
This 2020 Toru is 67%, 22% Riesling and 11% Pinot Gris. It has an intriguing nose with notes of mango, fresh citrus, white florals and exotic spices. These lead into a multi-layered palate with flavours of mango, citrus, red apple and lychee with a lingering spiciness. The palate has excellent fruit concentration and weight with lovely creamy texture, plus a mineral edge which gives it great length of flavour. – Anna Flowerday, TWR
Sweetly fragrant peach, mango, lemon and pear aromas lead to a textural palate that has such fleshy, richly flavored tropical and stone-fruit flavors. A blend of gewurztraminer, riesling and pinot gris. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink now. Screw cap.
93 points. Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com
2019 TWR Pinot Gris SV 5182 $33
Full points for intensity. This really does offer terrific concentration of flavour. It’s alive with both aroma and fruit but it has texture, control and persistence all covered as well. Lychee, pear, chalk and drifts of tropical fruit. Florals. It’s electric.
94 points. Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
2018 TWR Riesling ‘D’ SV 5182 $33
Pure, focused, varietal and enticing bouquet with aromas of red and green apple, pear and sweet lemon. It’s also very floral and mineral with white blossoms and artesian water scents. On the palate – equally pure with fruit flavours, flowers, fruit spices and minerals that reflect the nose. Very youthful and precise with salivating acidity and satin mouthfeel. A delicious wine – perfect as an aperitif, balanced with a lengthy dry finish. Best drinking from today and through 2031+.
94 points. Cameron Douglas MS, camdouglasms.com
2020 TWR Gewürztraminer SV 5182 $43
This wine is produced solely from 14 rows in the old block which were planted in 1979 and are some of the oldest vines in Marlborough at 41 years of age. It’s 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. – Anna Flowerday, TWR
2017 TWR Pinot Noir $54
This is utterly delicious Pinot, delivering abundant spiced-cherry and blueberry-pastry aromas. This has an attractively composed and fleshy, ripe, dark-cherry and red-plum core with long, fresh and juicy drive on the palate. Such great fruit purity here.
94 points. Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com
2017 TWR Clayvin Pinot Noir SV 5096 $96
Impressive and super fragrant with plenty of violets, roses, bright red cherries and a whiff of sweetly fragrant baking spices. There’s a lot happening here. This really is regal pinot with such power and succulent, tensile tannin that magically gives way, at just the right moment, to let the finish bloom softly, as if in slow motion, clouding the mouth with playfully fresh, red-cherry flavour. It really is beautiful. Drink now. Screw cap.
97 points. Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com
2019 TWR Syrah SV 5182 $80
Complex, varietal, floral, a deep core of minerality and soft white pepper bouquet. Flavours of wild and fresh raspberry, black currant, violets and sweet meats, fine silty mineral core and layers of barrel spice and toastiness. Plenty of tannin and a back bone of acidity with youthfully firm yet polished tannin textures – all leading to a lengthy finish. A wine for the cellar – if you can wait till early 2022 – then decant for service and enjoy on its own or with food. Well made, complex and highly recommended.
95 points. Cameron Douglas MS, camdouglasms.com