• French oak
• Black cherry
• Dark chocolate
• Supple tannins

"Another well crafted Pinot Noir from Jules and the team, a seamless wine from the bouquet through the palate with aromas and flavours of black cherry and dark plum, some baking spices from oak and fresh fruit spices add complexity. Dry, firm, youthful, a taut squeeze and salivating impact with flavours of dark berries and plums begin to fill the palate. Tannins and acidity add the tautness and palate squeeze circling back to fruit for the finish. Best drinking from 2026 through 2033+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Nov 2024

This Pinot Noir shows an impressive concentration of flavour and a nice acid backbone. The wild fermentation along with extended lees maturation in barrel have added complexity and texture to the dark cherry and raspberry characters found on the palate. The finish is dry with a nice touch of dark chocolate and subtle French oak coming through. The wine will continue to develop well over the next 5 years.

Growers had to be alert and agile through the early 2022-23 growing season to protect vines and avoid the disease threatened by the regular rainfall. A month or so prior to harvest many in Marlborough were bracing themselves for a tricky harvest. And yet… As so often happens in Marlborough, Autumn weather saved the day. Marlborough dodged the tropical storms that devasted NZ’s North Island. Loose bunches kept the fruit dry and clean, and early concerns over disease did not eventuate. Healthy canopies kept the vines in good shape to ripen their grapes and develop delicious flavours in a harvest that was somewhat slower and later than usual. The condition of grapes arriving at the winery was truly fantastic. The slow ripening period had concentrated flavours which were ripe, layered and balanced by juicy acidity. Harvest went very smoothly, and Jules was able to breathe a sigh of relief, and then smile with anticipation as she tasted the wines in tank and barrel.

The grapes for this Pinot Noir were grown in Marlborough’s Southern Valleys. The fruit was predominantly hand harvested over a two week period from mid March as optimum ripeness was reached in each block. At the winery, most of the fruit was de-stemmed into small open top fermenters and cold soaked for 5 to 10 days, with a small percentage of whole bunches included to accentuate the spicy perfumed aromas. The juice was then fermented with indigenous yeasts, and plunged by hand to extract a good amount of colour and tannins. It was pressed immediately upon reaching dryness and a portion was transferred to French oak barrels for maturation. After a full malolactic fermentation in spring, the wine was bottled in March of 2024.

Food Pairing: Try it with a platter of seeded crackers and smoky eggplant dip or with smoky pulled pork sliders served with kimchi and slaw.