When asked if she had a feeling the Albariño would do well, Anna laughed – “I think that about all my wines!”
But the stars aligned at our Whenua Matua vineyard in the Upper Moutere, and Decanter’s panel of Master Sommeliers recognised something very special in the 2025 vintage.
Winning Gold at the world’s largest and most influential wine competition is a huge achievement for Tohu Wines.
It’s a big win for Albariño, too, a much smaller varietal compared to the Pinot Gris, Pinot Rosé, and Pinot Noir that Nelson is famous for.
We asked the grower and the maker, Mike Duffield and Anna McCarty, how the vineyard and the winemaking practice have demonstrated this Iberian style of wine so beautifully.
Albariño is a wine of the coast and its kai
Recent studies have found that Albariño, once thought to have been introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by monks in the twelfth century, is actually indigenous to Galicia.
Galicia is one of the lushest parts of Northwestern Spain. The four estuary inlets known as the Rías Baixas provide the moist conditions, maritime winds, and free-draining soils that produce a white wine famous for stonefruit flavours, fresh acidity, and coastal salinity.
Galicia, Spain, homeland of Albariño
Albariño, meaning “little white one” in Galician, has become increasingly popular in New Zealand as a perfect companion for our kaimoana, seafood.
At home in Nelson’s Upper Moutere
Our Albariño is grown in the Whenua Matua vineyard, a climate with cousin-like resemblance to the wine’s home terroir in the Rías Baixas.
When describing the growing conditions behind her wine, Anna McCarty’s pride for Nelson is contagious.
“Nelson is such a fruitbowl. When it rains it pours, there’s warmth in the air, and heavy clay soils. Albariño is the last thing to come into the winery at harvest time. It can sit out in the vineyard getting more and more delicious.”
Looking across the lake to the Whenua Matua vineyard
Our Whenua Matua vineyard is managed by Mike Duffield, an expert grower with thirty years in the wine industry.
He shares why Albariño is uniquely suited to the growing conditions in these Moutere hills:
"Albariño is a dream to look after. I think it’s the best suited variety to Whenua Matua because it goes through a later bud burst, has thicker skins, and is highly disease resistant. The grapes grow in large bunches, but with enough space for water to drain off them."
With our native plantings now filling up the gullies, a major perk of Mike’s job is watching the thriving wildlife throughout the vineyard:
“Whenua Matua is full of native wildlife. I’m always seeing and hearing kārearea (falcon), tūi, korimako (bellbird), and even riroriro (grey warbler) and pīpīwharauroa (shining cuckoo) in the bottom block.”
— Mike Duffield, Assistant Vineyard Manager
Mike managed to snap this kārearea (native falcon) perched on a post in the vineyard.
Whenua Matua’s ancient clay soils are layered with gravel which imbues a distinct minerality into the wines.
The sloping hillsides offer good airflow, but our higher sunshine hours and tougher growing conditions create a distinctly New Zealand expression of Albariño, as Anna explains:
“There’s something about New Zealand that you don’t get anywhere else in the world, which is exactly why Sauvignon Blanc is such a success story. I think there’s elements of that in Albariño, too. Ours is pure, fruit-driven, and bright with barely any in-bottle maturation.”
Hands-off winemaking so the site speaks
Like any horticultural practice, wine growers and makers are largely at the mercy of Papatuānuku, the earth mother.
But one defining act has the power to make or break the months of mahi, work, in the vineyard and winery: deciding when to harvest.
Harvest time means peak nerves and little sleep for our team, as they bring 3000 tonnes of grapes into the winery. It’s an agonising wait for the analysis of sugar levels to validate that they made the right call.
When the results came through after 2025’s harvest, Anna breathed a sigh of relief – they’d nailed it, and she had a stunning raw material to work with.
Not that Albariño needs much intervention, as Anna explains:
“When we make Albariño we’re very hands-off. It’s a cold tank ferment, nothing fancy and no oak barrels, we’re just allowing the site to speak. One major aspect is finding the right yeast, and I chose one I trust from the same Spanish region where Albariño comes from.”
Once bottled, Albariño was released to our partners and distributors all over the world – and to London as an entry in the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards.
Loved by Decanter’s panel of top wine judges
Decanter is the world’s largest and most prestigious wine competition. This year’s edition saw 245 judges from 36 countries judging nearly 17,000 wines.
Wine entries are organised into flights by country, region, colour, grape variety, style, vintage, and price point, where they’re judged by a panel of experts in that region.
Image credit: Ellen Richardson
All entries are anonymised. Judges taste the flight in silence, then discuss, and agree on a final score for each wine. Gold medal winners are retasted a week later by a senior judging panel, where they could be demoted or lifted even higher to Platinum or Best in Show.
This year, there were eight New Zealand Albariño entries from five different regions – ours was the only Gold winner.
From the judges’ tasting notes, it certainly left an impression:
“A frisson* of kaffir lime, orange oil and honeyed herbals patrols the nose, while saline mineral characters frame the palate. Gorgeous grapefruit sherbet charges the length.”
*Frisson means sudden excitement, like getting goosebumps when you hear powerful music.
Anna, Mike, and the team are thrilled to have their hard work acknowledged on the world stage by such an esteemed judging panel – “we must be doing something right!” she says.
“It’s a privilege to make wine from Whenua Matua. It means ‘significant place’ and you get it when you’re there.”
— Anna McCarty, Winemaker
Congratulations to winemaker Anna McCarty, vineyard manager Mike Duffield, and all our kaimahi who made this achievement possible.
Ka rawe!
Find Tohu Whenua Matua Albariño 2025 in select retailers and online
Order a case of our Tohu Whenua Matua Albariño 2025 to enjoy with your favourite seafood dish or to savour on its own with loved ones.
For a delicious combination of spicy, sweet, and refreshing flavours, try our Puff Pastry Prawns with Bang Bang Sauce recipe.