Three Fates x Gordon Russell
Chenin Blanc 2024 750ml

A special collaboration between Three Fates and luminary winemaker Gordon Russell, this Chenin Blanc comes from the Two Terraces Vineyard in the Mangatahi Terraces of Hawke’s Bay. Handpicked, foot stomped, and macerated overnight, the fruit was pressed to a mix of tank and an old 500L oak puncheon, letting nature take the lead.

This collaboration was a special opportunity to work with Holly’s father, Gordon Russell, who has long been our sounding board but got to take the reins this time. Here are his musings on the wine…

It seems as if Chenin Blanc has always been part of my winemaking DNA.  The day I walked into the Esk Valley cellar to take up a role as Assistant Winemaker in late 1989, little did I realise that this grape would be a part of my winemaking life for the forthcoming 30+ years.

Barrels of Chenin Blanc resting in our barrel hall, later to be bottled as ”wood aged “ Chenin Blanc, were to become a staple of the Esk Valley range. Those early years were tough for the grape as its acreage diminished rapidly, resulting in our source of our fruit changing numerous times. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot become the fashionable grapes with Chenin Blanc being reserved for either the true enthusiast or the older generation still living in yesteryear. Quickly we became one of an ever-diminishing group of producers championing this noble and historic grape. It all seemingly came to an end in 2015 when our final grape supply contract ended. With it a legacy that stretched back to 1988, it appeared I had made my last wine from this chameleon grape.

It was therefore very exciting four years later to receive Chenin Blanc grapes from Ian and Linda Quinn’s “Two Terraces Vineyard” in 2019.  It was as if the variety had found its true home in Hawkes Bay on a river terrace formed by the Ngaruroro River at Mangatahi. With its gravelly soils, cool nights, very hot days, and an unrivalled attention to detail from the Quinn’s, the fruit was a revelation and the resulting wine quickly dubbed the best Chenin Blanc Esk Valley had ever made. Subsequent vintages offered opportunities to expand my knowledge of the fruit from the site, although none would achieve the quality of that initial harvest, that is until 2024.

With this vintage being one of the greatest of all time in Hawkes Bay, and thus the fruit in perfect condition, all the components fell into place. Our hand picked berries were foot stomped and macerated overnight before being pressed to dryness and run to both a small tank and an old 500 litre oak puncheon. Nature was allowed to run its course and the wild yeast obliged with a remarkably easy ferment.

This was always going to be a big bodied wine, as I had left the grapes to fully ripen, maximising the potential of the warm and dry autumn conditions. The flavours were intense and the sugars high; something we strive for but rarely achieve with this late-ripening variety.

The label had to be yellow. When I think of Chenin Blanc I’m reminded of yellow fruit and flavours. Pineapple, passionfruit, honey, chamomile, grapefruit (pith, in this case) and quince spring to mind. The artwork is an adaptation of a Fane Flaws painting named the “Bird Watcher’, which has brightened a wall of the Russell household since it was first hung in 2004. Given its yellow earthy tones it only seemed natural that this piece of art with all its memories would find its place onto the label of this first Three Fates collaboration.