Marlborough a+ Pinot Noir Rosé 2021

COLOUR Pale salmon pink with orange hue.

NOSE Lovely complex nose with rose petals, berries and cream.

PALATE Crisp fresh watermelon with fresh strawberries and thyme, finishing crisp mineral and clean.

CELLARING Drink now to December 2024.

Harvest 2021 was about 8 days earlier than 2020 and kicked off on March 9th and was complete in 4 weeks finishing on April 9th. No two vintages are the same and this year the difference was the lower yield. Springtime flowering conditions weren’t favourable with cooler weather than usual leading to a large reduction in yield. Some late spring frosts occurred affecting some localised areas of Marlborough and contributed to the lower yielding 2021 vintage. However, we had great weather throughout the ripening period, lots of sunshine and cooler nights, and very little rain so there was no disease pressure and all varieties achieved fantastic ripeness and flavours, albeit small volumes.

Fruit for the 2021 a+ Pinot Noir Rosé was sourced from one of our long-term contract growers, Grovetown Vineyard. The fruit was machine harvested then pressed following a standard white grape press program. The cloudy juice was cold settled over approximately 48 hours. The clear juice was then racked, warmed and inoculated with a vigorous, aromatic yeast and fermented in tank at 12°C to 13°C for 20 days. After fermentation the wine was chilled and racked off fermentation lees after 2 weeks to retain fruit and freshness.

The wine was stabilised without extra fining additions before final crossflow filtration to prepare for bottling.