Top Méthode Traditionnelle Tohu Rewa Blanc de Blancs Méthode Traditionnelle 2017

I HAVE LIVED IN New Zealand for almost twenty years, and while you could imagine that by now the indigenous culture has become just another part of daily life, I am so regularly captivated and moved by the beauty of Māori culture. To my ear, the language is lyrical and onomatopoeic and manages to capture the very essence of the item it describes, particularly when it comes to nature. Tohu – the world’s first Māori-owned wine company – seems to capture that essence with its wine names.

The Rewa collection is so named as rewa means to float, just like the bubbles in sparkling wines. Rewa can also mean to elevate, and this spectacular wine can most definitely be described as elevated.

As a blanc de blancs, this wine is made from 100% chardonnay that has been grown in the Marlborough subregion of Rapaura. Leaving it on lees for six years, exactly double the time required of a vintage méthode traditionnelle before release, reflects a solid commitment to quality over profit.

Made in a deliberately dry style, this spectacular méthode traditionnelle is pale in the glass with a lovely autolytic stamp on the nose with cream, dough and toasted nut aromas sitting alongside lemon sorbet freshness and crunchy apple acidity. The palate is remarkably fresh and focussed for the length of time already spent in bottle and clearly still has many years to go. Delicate and lean, yet complex and racy, this wine is long and refined with a finish that seems to linger infinitely. Superb.