Vineyard
Grapes were sourced from both the Baldy vineyard and our own Summer Valley vineyard, both situated near the town of Blenheim, in the lee of the Wither Hills. These vineyards are comprised of Wither Hills loess and some clay soils of low/medium fertility. Both are small vineyards, quite close to each other, planted with various Dijon clones of pinot noir resulting in low yields and concentrated flavours. Season 05/06
It was reasonably warm in late winter/early spring 2005 resulting in an early bud burst, however we then had a number of cold periods that kept us all on frost alert. Pinot Noir, being an early budding variety, got knocked around with these cold periods resulting in a lower than normal fruit set. It then settled into a warm early summer period with temperatures in December being far higher than normal. However in January 2006 the temperatures
dropped to below average and these lower temperatures continued for the rest of the growing season. Growing Degree Days (GDD) were 1,396 compared to the long term average of 1,261 GDD. Harvest
All grapes for this wine were hand harvested in perfect healthy condition on 14 March for the Baldy vineyard, and 15 March 2007 for Summer Valley. The grapes were hand picked into small baskets, with only healthy ripe grapes being selected, prior to transport to the winery. Vinification
On arrival at the winery the fruit was de-stemmed into open top fermenters, the must was then given a pre-fermentation cold soak for several days.
A period on skins then followed with regular hand plunging taking place to extract colour and tannins. Following fermentation and after several further days on skins, the wine was drained and lightly pressed to a mixture of older and new (30%) French oak barriques for maturation. The wine was then allowed to go through malolactic fermentation prior to being transferred out of barrel, and lightly fined with egg whites for clarity, prior to bottling. Tasting Notes
Light red in colour, on the nose enticing aromas of ripe juicy black cherries, pepper and spice, distinctly Pinot Noir. On the palate this is followed by strawberries and plums enhancing a full and supple body with soft tannins and acid. This is all married together by the French oak infusing charry toasty oak characters. |
