Sophie Preece
Thirty-five years after Gordon Russell caught the Chenin Blanc bug, he’s well and truly passed it on to his daughter Holly Girven Russell, along with her cofounders at a tiny Hawke’s Bay wine label. The Three Fates 2024 Chenin Blanc is a father-daughter collaboration, in what Holly explains as an attempt to respect the knowledge accumulated through a life in wine and carry it through with a younger generation. “In essence, a celebration of the stuff you can’t learn in wine school.”
Gordon was introduced to Chenin Blanc when he joined Esk Valley in 1989, and went on to become a champion for the variety. “I had no idea that Chenin Blanc would become such an integral part of my winemaking life and that I would still be working with it all these years later.” He says the 2024 vintage, “being one of the greatest of all Hawke’s Bay vintages”, was a great opportunity to work with Holly and her Three Fates co-founders Hester Nesbitt and Casey Motley. “All the components fell into place to make a wine of the highest quality.”
Three Fates began amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and the 2024 Chenin represents the culmination of four years of learning, growth and experimentation together, Holly says. “The 2024 Three Fates x Gordon Russell Chenin Blanc is a testament to what happens when you blend tradition with fresh, new ideas – and when you make wine with people who share your vision.”
This article was first published in New Zealand Winegrower magazine issue 151 and is republished with permission.
