Mt. Beautiful Rosé

Mt. Beautiful Sauvignon Blanc

Flavour Profile

Our Sauvignon Blanc pushes the boundaries of the typical New Zealand flavour profile. By highlighting floral aromatics and tropical flavours such as guava and melon-like fruit, we tone down the grassiness and bring a creamy mid-palate all the way through to a fresh and bright crispness on the finish. We have set a new precedent for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

The Perfect Match

Pair Mt. Beautiful Sauvignon Blanc with arugula and feta salad, pasta carbonara or freshly shucked oysters on a sunny day.

For the Aficionado

The majority of the Sauvignon Blanc is planted on the most northern part of the vineyard which is cooler and more suited to this variety. All of our Sauvignon Blanc is hand thinned and machine harvested before it is pressed into juice on site.

The planted clones are a mix of University of California Davis (UCD) 1 and Mass selection (MS) on a mix of 101-14, 3309 and Schwarzmann rootstock, with a quarter of the vines Bordeaux clones BDX 316 and BDX 317, on Riparia Gloire rootstock. The Bordeaux clones tend to give a definite lift to Sauvignon Blanc flavours, with less cut grass and more tropical flavours providing a more artisan style, balanced, elegant wine which complements a range of foods.

Sauvignon Blanc Vineyard Stats:
Planted 2004-2006
9 blocks, 38 ha (93.9 ac)
862 rows, 101,497 vines
Spacing: @2.4 x 1.5 m
Yield: 8 T/ha (3.23 T/ac)

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Mt. Beautiful 12 Barrels Select Sauvignon Blanc

Flavour Profile

Fine savory wine with a lemon zest, chamomile flower and cantaloupe melon bouquet. In the mouth the wine is fine and complex with minerality texture and length.

The Perfect Match

Pair Mt. Beautiful’s 12 Barrels Select Sauvignon Blanc with serious oysters from Kumamoto or Bluff and a curious outlook on life.

For the Aficionado

12 Barrels Select was hand-picked from two low yielding blocks; I and Q. For this reason we always nick-named the wine as the “High IQ” Sauvignon Blanc. The planted clones are a mix of University of California Davis (UCD) 1 and the highly regarded Bordeaux clones 316 and 317 planted mainly on 3309 and 3306 and Riparia Gloire rootstock.They are located on the Southern side of the vineyard on slopes that have less topsoil and consequently make the vines work harder. These low vigour sites produce small canopies; vines with shorter shoots and much lower leaf numbers, giving us small bunches of mostly golden grapes. They are hand-picked and were whole bunch pressed with scant regard to protection from oxidation. The result is a wine that exhibits low pyrazine and low thiol characters but has higher terpene derived aromas. These attributes make the wine much more suitable for barrel fermentation and ageing.

Mt. Beautiful Pinot Gris

Flavour Profile

Our Pinot Gris is an invitation to experience the unexpected. Aromatically the wine is floral with a nutty undertone featuring scents of quince blossom and hazelnuts. On the palate, it’s dry and full-bodied, warm and ripe with luscious ripe Nashi pear flavours backed by sensuous texture. It has a cream-like finish; clean with a crisp citrus twist at the end.

The Perfect Match

Pair our Mt. Beautiful Pinot Gris with carbonara, a salty feta and fig salad or whole baked Chinook salmon and especially rowdy dinner guests.

For the Aficionado

The Pinot Gris is planted on the warm slopes of a north facing hill block of natural un-contoured land, sloping from 55m to 32m above sea level. This site is well suited for Pinot Gris as it is out of the cooler and lower surrounding areas and the soil mix of silt loam and clay provide excellent water holding properties. It is all hand tended throughout the season and at harvest.

A variety of Pinot Gris clones have been planted including, German Geisenheim clone 2/21, new clonal reselections from South Africa, e.g. clones 7a, 14a and 52b and the Berrysmith clone, which provides a full bodied, textural wine with a richness in the mid palate.

Pinot Gris Vineyard Stats:
Planted 2005-2006
1 block, 4.3 ha (10.6 ac)
66 rows, 11,733 vines
Spacing: @2.4 x 1.5 m
Yield: 8 T/ha (2.4 T/ac)

Mt. Beautiful Chardonnay

Flavour Profile

An aromatic Chardonnay displaying white peach and toasted brioche with a creamy texture that makes it easy to drink. It is a medium bodied wine with ripe nectarine-like fruit and underlying notes of roasted almonds and cinnamon. The wine boasts a clean and crisp finish, lovely persistent minerality and savoury toastiness.

The Perfect Match  

Pair our Mt. Beautiful Chardonnay with poached chicken, fresh baked salmon, Coquille St. Jacques, and a playful perspective about life.

For the Aficionado

Our Chardonnay is planted on the most Northern part of the vineyard and is hand-tended and hand-harvested. The clones are a mixture of French clones B95, 548, UCD15 and UCD1 grafted onto different rootstocks. The vineyard is in charge of dictating the flavour profile of the Chardonnay, so far yielding flavours of peachy stone fruits and creamy almonds. The first vintage was 2013.

Mt. Beautiful Pinot Noir

Flavour Profile 

As a personal favourite of Mt. Beautiful’s owner David Teece, it’s incredibly important for our Pinot Noir to showcase the best aspects of the varietal. Subtlety is the secret inside this wine. It begins with sophisticated floral fragrances of sweet spice and ripe soft red berry fruits, while showcasing an elegant medium-weight palate that features fragrant strawberry and bramble fruit, earthiness and subtle tannins.

The Perfect Match

Pair our Mt. Beautiful Pinot Noir with Miles Davis, rare roast beef and horseradish sauce, hard salty cheeses like Pecorino Romano or moussaka on a rainy night.

For the Aficionado 

Our Pinot Noir is planted on the Southern section of our vineyard, which has the highest elevation, providing extra warmth and less exposure to frost. In addition, our vines are closely planted to reduce vigour, resulting in lower crop levels and allowing us to ripen these grapes to achieve a true expression of this variety. We hand tend all our Pinot Noir throughout the season and at harvest. Our mix of Pinot Noir clones were specifically chosen for their flavour profile with 50% of the vineyard planted in Burgundy clones. Clone 667 fills out the middle palate, while 777 provides a long finish. The rest of the vines are a mixture of eleven other clones, including UCD 5, UCD 6, 114, 115, Mariafeld, AM10, 4, 5, 943 and Abel. The aim of these selections is to build sound palate structure in the wine, providing a vibrant ruby colored wine with ripe fruit, subtle tannins, great length and persistence of flavour.

Pinot Noir Vineyard Stats:
Planted 2004-2019
9 blocks, 27.7 ha (68.5 ac)
907 rows, 98,572 vines
Spacing: @2.0 x 1.0 m
Yield: 6 T/ha (2.5 T/ac)

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Mt. Beautiful 10 Barrels Select Pinot Noir

Flavour Profile

Our first ever Barrel Select Pinot Noir begins with sophisticated floral fragrances of violets and blackberries, underpinned by subtle power and savoury bacon-like aromas. On the palate this elegant wine reveals a veiled depth of intense bramble-like fruit, earthiness and subtle chalky tannins that run right through the mouth. The wine finishes with an echo of that toasty crisp bacon fat, and with a clarity of fruit and good persistent flavour.

The Perfect Match

Pair our Mt. Beautiful 10 Barrels Select Pinot Noir with wild mushroom risotto, spring lamb and a winter’s day at the beach.

For the Aficionado 

Our Barrel Select Pinot Noir comes from M Block West and M Block Gully.

Mt. Beautiful Riesling

Flavour Profile

The Riesling is our baby, in the sense that it was the first wine we produced and launched to the public. It is a purely textural adventure, ripe with off-dry flavours of honeysuckle, pink grapefruit and sweet almond blossom. The citrus notes meld together with crisp minerality and a complex ripe apple character. It finishes with a beautiful, lingering acidity. This wine is made by blending together two distinct blocks of Riesling from the vineyard.

The Perfect Match 

Pair our Mt. Beautiful Riesling with fresh New Zealand Scallops, spicy dishes and a laissez-faire outlook on a warm afternoon.

For the Aficionado

The Riesling is planted on the higher elevated Southern section of the vineyard bordered by gullies, with the gully to the west being an established pine forest creating a warm sheltered block. The Riesling is closely planted, and has been split into two blocks with the lower block being spur pruned and the higher larger block single cane pruned to reduce vigour and maximise flavour. Like several of our other blocks we tend and harvest this block by hand.

These plantings focus on German Geisenheim clone Gm 239, backed by clones Gm 198 and then Gm 110, which provide a classically elegant wine with mandarin, lime and lemon flavours.

Riesling Vineyard Stats:
Planted 2005
2 blocks, 2.63 ha (6.5 ac)
92 rows, 10,570 vines
Spacing: @2.4 x 1.05 m
Yield: 7 T/ha (2.8 T/ac)