CAMBRIDGE ROAD
PAST WINES
2019 NATURALIST ROSÉ
This wine is a bland of Riesling (98%) and Pinot Noir (2%) from Cirrus and Dry River Terrace Vineyard. The grapes are direct pressed into stainless steel where the juice undergoes a cool fermentation and constant racking to get rid of solids. While the wine is finishing fermentation, they chill it, slowing fermentation enough to bottle. The wine finishes its primary fermentation in bottle under crown cap. It is released without added Sulphur. Only 63 cases were produced. 13% ABV
2018 CLOUDWALKER
For this cuvée Lance used Pinot Gris (65%) and Riesling (35%) from Cirrus Vineyard. The site is in the southern part of the appellation on the rocky banks of Dry River. Roughly half the grapes were direct pressed while the other half were gently fermented on skins. After a quick five-month élevage in neutral barrel and ceramic egg the wine is bottled without finning, filtration, nor SO2. 13% ABV
2018 TIGER NOIR
This brand new cuvée comes from Lime Gully Vineyard, north of Martinborough. The site boasts higher elevations and lime rich soils thanks to fossilized oyster shells. The farm has a whopping array of clones: Pommard. CL5, CL6, Abel, 115, and 117. The grapes were mostly destemmed into open top tank for fermentation. The wine is then pressed off into neutral barrel for nearly a year of élevage. No Sulphur was added at bottling. Only 36 cases were produced. 12.3% ABV
2018 WEEPING TIGER
Just north of Martinborough, James & Barbara Walker farm two acres of vines. They are in a narrow gully, at high elevations, on soils that are comprised of fossilized oyster shells. Their sustainable farmstead is idyllic. This wine is made from their Pinot Gris. They fermented the grapes on the skins for three weeks before pressing off into one single 700L barrel for élevage. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered with no additional Sulphur. Only 78 cases were produced. 13.2% ABV
2018 MARSANNE
This Marsanne was grown by James & Annie Milton on their legendary Biodynamic farm in Gisborne. The juice macerated on skins for three days before being pressed off into an 860L barrel for fermentation and élevage on full lees. It was bottled in the fall with no fining, no filtration, and only 13ppm of Sulphur. Only 85 cases were produced. 12.2% ABV
2017 PAPILLON ORANGE
This wine is made from Pinot Noir (43%), Pinot Meunier (28%), Riesling (13%), Pinot Gris (12%), and Sauvignon Blanc (4%). The vines are all quite young (12-31-years-old) and are planted on four different sites around Martinborough. The dominant soil type is limestone. All the grapes were all direct pressed except for the Pinot Gris which spent a month macerating on skins. After seven months in neutral oak the wine is bottled without fining nor filtration, and less than 20ppm of Sulphur. 12% ABV
2018 NATURALIST
The bulk of this cuvée is Riesling (46%) and Pinot Gris (22%) from Cirrus Vineyard. The remainder is made from a combination of Chardonnay (15%), Pinot Noir (14%) and Pinot Meunier (3%) from Cambridge Road, Grava and Lime Gully vineyards. The grapes are all direct pressed into tank where the juice settles overnight and then is racked. This clean juice is then wild fermented until it has just a pinch of residual sugar left. The wine is then chilled, racked again, and eventually bottled. Fermentation resumes in the spring as the winery heats up resulting in a gently sparkling wine. This wine has no added sulphur. 13.5% ABV
2018 ROSE OF VENUS
This is a brand-new cuvée from Lance. Historically he’s made his rosé a touch more commercial, but this year he’s opted for a wild style more representative of his philosophy and the grapes he works with. It is made from Pinot Noir (70%), Chardonnay (12%), Riesling (10%), Pinot Gris (5%), and Pinot Meunier (3%). The grapes are pressed, and the free run juice goes into barrel for about a month. It’s then put into stainless for four months to settle. It is bottled with just a pinch of CO2 to maintain freshness without added sulphur. 12.9% ABV
2016 DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
Lance uses Sauvignon Blanc from Grava Vineyard for this cuvée. The wine is fermented on skins for an astonishing six months before being pressed off into neutral oak barrel. After a twenty-month élevage the wine is bottled with minimal sulphur, no fining nor filtration. 11.7% ABV