Shallow sandy loam topsoil overlays a draining clay subsoil based on the weathered gravels of an ancient river system. The gravelly virgin soil is of naturally low fertility and retains enough moisture to support grapevines through the dry summer months.

The Moutere area is very sunny - more than 2300 hours a year, making it one of New Zealand's sunniest regions. Clear skies allow for rapid cooling at night, nurturing the slow development of flavours and a gradual reduction in fruit acids.

This combination of climate and soil type produces long living wines showing concentrated but not overtly fruity characters, with a fingerprint of textured minerally fruit acid.

The Finns also bring in fruit from other sites - Sauvignon Blanc comes from the stony alluvial Waimea Plains in Nelson and two separate sites in Marlborough, chosen specifically to broaden the flavour spectrum. Chardonnay from the Waimea Plains often produces a more overt tropical character and is incorporated into the Nelson Chardonnay.

The Vineyard

Vineyard management is driven by the winemaker's desire for ripe, flavour concentrated fruit. A combination of high plant density (up to 5000 vines/hectare) and low production (down to one kilo per vine for Pinot Noir) helps achieve the quality of fruit to create long -lived intense but elegant wines.

New clonal material is consistently being evaluated. The Mendoza clone with its firm acid and high extract provides the foundation for the Moutere Chardonnay, with clones 15, 2/23 and 95 playing minor but important roles.

Pinot Noir is notoriously genetically variable and from the ten clones under evaluation, three have been selected to complete the final plantings in the newly incorporated home block. These are UCD clone 5, and the Dijon clones 667 and 777.

All new plantings are grafted onto devigorating, phyloxera- resistant rootstock.

Vineyard canopy design includes some Scott Henry; as well as single and double vertically shoot positioned (VSP) vines.

The intensive management regime includes manual shoot thinning, leaf removal, bunch thinning and of course hand harvesting.

Neudorf Vineyards has been involved in the development of a sustainable viticulture scheme for New Zealand. This includes a soft spray regime and no insecticides. The rows are interplanted with chicory to provide competition and increase soil organic matter. The producing vines are not irrigated.

The Winemaking

"Great wines have a basis of fruit concentration and length - this occurs in the vineyard. As a winemaker my job is to take the essence of the fruit and preserve it as wine. On the way I may fine tune the balance and complexity in a number of ways but the aim is always to allow the site to be expressed through the fruit. I aim to reveal subtleties rather than paint up the surface with oak or residual sugar or even excess fruitiness. Power and finesse are not mutually exclusive." - Tim Finn (Winemaker)