Carrick The Magnetic 2020

Named after a Kawarau River gold dredge, the Carrick Magnetic Pinot Noir is a single block, single variety and single clone wine. The clone in question, Abel, was said to be derived from a cutting smuggled into the country from a famed Burgundian estate and subsequently confiscated by customs on arrival into the country. Moonlighting as a winemaker in his spare time, Malcolm Abel – a customs officer – saw the potential in the cutting and decided to propagate the clone. It is this unique chain of events which ultimately lead us to plant the Abel clone on a small 0.34 ha plot in 2008.

Hand-picked and sorted in the vineyard, 100% Abel clone. De-stemmed to tank, fermented wild using a combination of pump-overs and punch-downs to manage the cap. On skins for 17 days, pressed, settled and racked to 5 barrels - for 10 months, 20% new.