• Oak spice
• Cherry & strawberry
• Fine tannins
• Unfined

"True to its Bannockburn home, this 2020 vintage opens with vibrant aromas of cherry and berries, complemented by a subtle hint of spice from the careful use of oak. An energetic palate of red cherry, strawberry and black plums leads to a long finish framed by firm, fine tannins" Matt Dicey, Winemaker

Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Pinot Noir will improve for 10-15 years given optimal vintage and cellaring conditions.

Grapes for Bannockburn Pinot Noir come exclusively from estate and winerymanaged vineyards situated on the south side of the Kawarau River. While subject to the seasonal and diurnal temperature extremes of Central Otago, each vineyard has a specific terroir and a variety of low fertility soil types: light sands, clays, loams and gravels. The majority of grapes come from earlier plantings which are predominantly clones 5, 6 and 10/5, while more recent plantings are a mix of Dijon clones 113, 115, 667 and 777.

2020 sets a new benchmark for tricky seasons, but ultimately produced wines of exceptional quality. The growing season was introduced by a wet, cold and windy spring. These conditions continued through our key flowering and fruit set periods in October and December. Disturbed weather patterns continued right through January, and whilst the weather settled in February, it was not its usual scorching self. We experienced cool periods through both veraison and ripening, delaying and then slowing down our harvest. Ultimately these conditions resulted in superb fruit condition with no disease pressure, and small berries bursting with flavour.

We started harvesting our Pinot Noir and continued through a drawn out picking window indicative of the drop in temperature experienced in April. Where possible, we tried to co-ferment different clonal lots from the same vineyard, while vineyards are kept separate. Around three quarters of our ferments were de-stemmed only; the remaining quarter contained 15-40% whole clusters. The must underwent 7-8 days of cold maceration, being partially hand plunged once daily. The ferments were heated after this and all fermented with indigenous yeasts. The ferments lasted for an average of 8 days during which time they were hand plunged once daily with the temperature peaking at 30°C. The wine stayed on skins for a further 7-9 days post-dryness, and were plunged only occasionally. When the wine tasted in harmony it was pressed off to barrel where it resided on full lees for 12 months. It underwent malolactic fermentation in the spring, was racked out of barrel in late autumn and filtered, but not fined, prior to bottling. This wine is vegan friendly.