Whitehaven 'Greg' Single Vineyard Awatere Valley Pinot Noir 2020

Aroma / Bouquet: Bright fruit notes such as raspberry, red and dark cherries, blueberries and hints of cinnamon, aniseed and thyme.

Palate: Dark cherry, plum, aniseed and baking spice flavours playfully dance around a core of savoury tones. The palate is generously textured with ripe tannins, and good acidity ensures a long, clean finish.

The fruit was handpicked and destemmed into open top fermenters. This was cold soaked for five to six days before fermentation. During the ferment, regular hand plunging ensured optimum and gentle extraction of colour and flavour. The fermentation temperatures generally peaked at 32°C. After ferment, the wine was kept on skins for 20 days before lightly pressing. After racking, the wine was transferred to tight grained French oak barriques for 10 months ageing. 33% of this oak was new. Malolactic fermentation was allowed to occur naturally in spring. No fining or filtration was used on this wine, adding to its complexity and longevity.

After cold soak (between 3-6 days in duration), the must was let to warm up naturally before the onset of fermentation (primarily wild). The wine remained on skins for a total time of 16-21 days, before being pressed off and racked to various French oak barriques (28% new). The wine then remained in these barrels for 10 months, before finally being bottled on the 27th of May, 2021.