Last October, Deep Down achieved the goal of becoming a Certified B Corp business. The ethos of B Corp is to be a force for good and putting people and the planet over profit. B Corp offers a framework for businesses and policies, to become accountable for your actions, make a positive impact and be a part of an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy. Peter & Clive have continuously worked with these ethics and standards, and have now been recognised for doing so.
Eric Asimov, wine writer at The New York Times published an insightful article earlier this month, which highlights why a handful of wineries around the globe have joined the B Corp movement. Check out the article here to learn more.
2024 Deep Down Vintage Harvest Report
2024 harvest will be remembered for a very long time indeed. It’s shaping up to be one of the greatest ever Marlborough vintages. The 2024 Deep Down wines owe their personality and concentration to the first El Niño weather pattern in nearly a decade across New Zealand. This was a welcome reprieve from La Niña patterns, which tend to bring cold and wet conditions.
The season kicked off fast on the back of a very dry winter, with a decent budburst and early shoot growth getting us off to a great start. However, some parts of Marlborough experienced isolated spring frosts. Along with the cold weather at flowering from the previous year, this signalled smaller bunches and lower yields would be likely. The period around Christmas and New Year is pivotal to the outcome of any grape harvest in New Zealand. This is the time that vines are at most danger of high humidity causing fungal disease. Fortunately, this year we experienced the best that Marlborough has to offer, with the lowest rainfall ever recorded and warm, sunny days being the norm. This was followed by a perfectly timed switch to cooler nights in the weeks prior to harvest, allowing the grapes to finish ripening slowly, whilst maintaining their fresh acidity.
As a result of this amazing growing season, it’s fair to say we’re pretty excited about the 2024 wines’ potential. This is easily the most disease-free vintage Marlborough has experienced, with the combination of smaller bunches, perfect ripening and lack of disease pointing to wines that will show off their deep fruit concentration, balanced by joyous acidity. As always, we aim is to produce unique and authentic expressions of each variety, vineyard, and season by utilising the native yeast from each vineyard to determine the character of the resultant wines. At the time of writing, our puncheons of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are ticking along nicely through their natural fermentations, and our Pinot Noir is finished and resting through the winter.
Due to the ripeness of fruit and lovely acidity, it’s fair to label this vintage a “winemakers dream”, but we’d also call it a “wine-drinkers dream!” and we’re excited to show these wines off later in the year.