2021 Small Batch Reserve Pinot Noir
Vineyard:
In the 2021 season we implemented a range of viticultural options during the season to see if the fruit quality was responsive to different techniques such as leaf plucking and fruit dropping.
Clones:
2/3 Own rooted MV6 – planted 1999.
1/3 Pommard on Paulsen rootstock – planted 2017
Analysis: Baume 12.4, T.A.: 7.0g/l, pH:3.25
Winemaking:
Winemaker: Franco D’Anna
Total crush: 72 dozen
Fruit Analysis (representative): Baume: 12.5 pH: 3.1; TA: 7.0 grams/litre
Batch Selection: Blind tasting of 20 barrels of Pinot Noir with seven different clones, soils and vineyard management combinations.
The three barrels chosen included:
1 Barrel of fruit from C Block, leaf plucked in mature oak;
1 Barrel of B Block (red volcanic clay) MV6, leaf plucked in second fill Tarransaud oak; and
1 Barrel of H Block (red volcanic clay) Pommard in new Tarransaud oak.
Fermentation: All fruit crushed and destemmed on receival.
Innoculated and kept in separate parcels during ferment and maturation.
Barrel Maturation: 18 months in new (1/3) & used French Barrique (225l), full malolactic fermentation.
Blended and racked to steel tank one month prior to bottling. No fining or filtration.
Contains sulphites
Bottled 30 July, 2022
Vegan friendly: no animal products used.
12.5% alc/vol; Approx. 7.4 standard drinks
Tasting notes:
This is a fine wine, well balanced with heaps of refinement and class. In the glass it is a ruby red with crimson hue. On the nose the lifted perfume jumps out of the glass, glowing with red berry and savoury aromas from the Pommard, a new addition to our wine making options. In the mouth the wine is luscious and mouth filling with complexity and breadth. The interplay of acid grip and fine tannins makes for a lasting finish which lingers for some time.
Choose a tasty hard cheese or a perfectly cooked red meat to complement this lovely wine.
Awards & Reviews:
Halliday Wine Companion, Philip Rich: 93 points
A barrel selection of three barriques out of 20 (66% new). A light, bright ruby garnet. An attractive and elegant mélange of cranberries, red apple, cedar, a little allspice and some autumnal forest floor notes. Gentle on the palate, too, with fine, persistent tannins and a fine vein of acidity rounding out a wine that can be enjoyed now, with food, or cellared for up to five or so years.