Loveblock Pinot Noir 2020

Legend has it that the body of a young man was buried on the land back in the 1860s. The young man's grave was simply marked “Somebody’s Darling lies buried here” – we named the vineyard 'Someone’s Darling'.

A bright crimson colour, aroma of big, ripe black cherry with hints of mushroom and toasty oak spice peeking out behind rich fruit. Fleshy black plum to taste, with layers of cherry and sweet berries that play on the palate and dance with hints of violet and savoury notes. Dry tannins and hints of cigar make this a versatile wine to pair with turkey, salmon, lamb and beef.

Loveblock Central Otago Pinot Noir (Estate) Tasting Notes with Erica

The Pinot Noir grapes come from our family-owned estate on the Bendigo Loop Road in Central Otago. Here, the soil type is free-draining sandy loam over schist alluvium gravels known as Molyneux soils. The clones planted in these soils are B777, B667, B115, Clone 5 (Pommard) and Abel. The vineyard is entirely cane pruned to two canes, with the wire being approximately half full. The Dijon clones give the wine nice floral notes, while Abel and Pommard provide structure.

Once the clones entered the required flavour profile, they were machine harvested with a destemming harvester in April in the early hours of the morning and transported to the winery. At the winery, the fruit was pumped straight to the tank, without crushing, in order to leave some whole berries. After a five-day cold soak, the must was warmed to 20°C and fermentation commenced on its own yeast. The ferment was hand plunged twice daily until dry when it was pressed off. The wine then underwent full malolactic fermentation in tank. After eight months of ageing, the wine was stabilised and coarse filtered.