ABV 13%
Tohu produces award-winning New Zealand wine crafted from grapes grown in our breath-takingly beautiful, Awatere Valley Vineyard. When Tohu launched in 1998 we were the world's first Maori owned wine company. Since then we’ve grown a reputation for producing premium wine in a range of varieties, winning awards for our Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Méthode Traditionnelle.
Grapes for this wine are sourced entirely from our unique, high altitude site in the Upper Awatere valley of Marlborough. This vineyard is characterised by very cool nights and a long drawn out growing season that seems to intensify flavours and aromas while allowing our grapes to hold onto their natural acidity. Differing blocks within the vineyard can show quite different flavours so we aim to select the ripest sections of the vineyard and generally harvest them later than the blocks destined for our tank fermented Tohu Sauvignon Blanc. The Puketapu, Waha and Wharau blocks along with a small terrace called Kouka provided the barrels that were eventually selected for the Mugwi.
A bright, golden green this wine has a very complex and layered nose of pungent guava, passionfruit, white peach and exotic spices, all blended in with an undercurrent of honeyed toast, butterscotch and mealy, biscuit notes. Typical for this barrel fermented, lees aged style there is also a flinty, smoky character that lends a brooding, sweaty element to the nose. On the palate the acidity is tempered and clean with with a richness and full body derived from malolactic ferment and time on lees clearly coming through in addition to the citrus and tropical fruits that provide backbone and lift. A very long, dry finish helps give the wine a lingering presence of layers of fruit and texture.
