Greywacke Pinot Noir 2017

A seductive combination of blackberries, blueberries and sweet black plums intermingled with roasted chestnuts, cloves and dark tobacco – rich and exotic with hints of lavender and rose petal. A highly perfumed, aromatic style of Marlborough Pinot with opulent fruit sweetness and a delicate smoky infusion. The palate is generous with ripe fruit, fine tannins and a delicious spicy finish.

All fruit was grown in Marlborough’s Southern Valleys and principally sourced from the Yarrum Vineyard situated on the Brancott/Ben Morven ridge. Here, the wind-blown loess soils are comprised of clay-loams with varying degrees of gravel content. The various source blocks are cultivated to a mixture of Pinot Noir clones, predominantly the Dijon clones 115, 777, and 667, with smaller parcels of UCD5 and AM 10/5. The vineyards are primarily hillside plantings trained to two-cane VSP (vertical shoot positioning).

The grapes were hand harvested and chilled overnight prior to hand sorting. Most of the fruit was then de-stemmed into open-top fermenters, the majority of fermentations with partial whole bunch inclusion. The fruit was allowed to soak on skins prior to the onset of indigenous yeast fermentation, then hand plunged daily. After fermentation the wine was pressed, racked and filled to French oak barriques (30% new). All individual clones were aged in barrel for sixteen months, prior to blending.

16 months in French oak (30% new)