After six years in the winery, our 2017 Rewa Blanc de Blancs Méthode Traditionnelle is ready for savouring those special, fleeting moments.
Our bubbles earned a 5* nod from Cuisine Magazine recently, endorsing its place on the table at family gatherings, holiday celebrations, and weddings this summer.
It’s the first time Lloyd Howes “felt responsibility” for winemaking decisions. But he gives full credit to our growers, viticulture team, and the beautiful Chardonnay grapes from Marlborough’s Raupara sub-region.
We asked him about the happy accidents and big decisions involved in méthode traditionnelle at Tohu…
Spotting the potential
Unlike a New World wine like Sauvignon Blanc, Lloyd explains that fruity notes aren’t on his radar when making the base wine for our Blanc de Blancs.
Using Chardonnay grapes from the brilliant Marlborough grower Ben McLauchlan, Lloyd makes a base wine that’s “acidic as hell” to start with:
“You’re not chasing fruity notes. You’re thinking about what the wine will become in a few years. It’s about finding the diamond in the rough.”
The ‘traditional method’ involves a process called on lees.
The base wine is bottled with sugar and yeast. Once the yeast eats the sugar, creating alcohol and carbon dioxide, it ‘dies’ and sinks to the bottom. This sediment at the bottom is the lees.
Slowly but surely, the yeast breaks down and releases mannoproteins, transforming the texture and taste of the wine. What was acidic and harsh softens into the biscuit-y, brioche-y notes we love in a glass of bubbles.
A méthode traditionnelle can take as little as 18 months, but our approach at Tohu takes full advantage of what only time can achieve. It takes six years of patience.
“We let time do the work, but it’s not as simple as more time equals better. It comes and goes in waves, then you have to know what to do with it.”
Once the time spent on lees is finished, the winemaker makes their mark…
Perfecting the result
Lloyd explains that the biggest influence a winemaker has during a méthode traditionnelle is the dosage rate, which happens after removing the lees.
Removing the bottle cap releases double the pressure of a car tyre, creating one last opportunity for perfection…
“To finish the méthode, you take the cap off the bottle it was resting in. The pressure is huge, like 7 bar, so when it releases you lose a bit of the wine. The tradition is to top it up with dosage wine and sweetness. The exact formula is a big decision that ties it all together.”
With the 2017 Rewa Blanc de Blancs, Lloyd remembers it tasting amazing without the dosage. But a touch of the special formula put everything in harmony.
Something bigger than awards
The 2017 Rewa Blanc de Blancs is the first time Lloyd’s winemaking is at the forefront. With high praise from Cuisine Magazine, we asked Lloyd how he feels about awards:
“At the end of the day, I have pride in what we’re doing at Tohu. That means being able to say that’s a delicious bottle of wine regardless of whether it won an award.”
Awards play an important role in signalling quality to consumers. While it’s always great to be recognised, our winemakers aren’t necessarily in it for the accolades.
For Lloyd, it comes back to one of the first things he learned when studying wine – that it's impossible to make good wine from bad grapes, but it's very possible to make bad wine from good grapes.
— Lloyd Howes, Winemaker“Winemakers have a duty to tiaki, to look after, the grapes from the grower and viticulture team.”
Thank you to Lloyd Howes for sharing the story behind our 2017 Rewa Blanc de Blancs Méthode Traditionnelle. Made over six years, in full surrender to time, for celebrating life’s special moments with loved ones.