Jules Taylor Marlborough Pinot Noir 2020

Bright ruby red with a haunting perfume of old rose and violets, damson plums and cherries with a decent handful of oaky briar spice for good measure. Coming hot on the heels of the stonking 2019 vintage, the 2020 is a more refined drop – a subtle, nuanced palate of red plums, raspberries and cherries, a hint of cinnamon and some earthy spicy oak. Juicy acidity gives the wine a classy structure and length, supported by fine, polished, savoury tannins.

Jules Taylor Wines - Pinot Noir, a labour of love

The grapes for this Pinot Noir were grown in Marlborough’s Southern Valleys.

The fruit was predominantly hand harvested over a two week period from mid March as optimum ripeness was reached in each block. At the winery, most of the fruit was de-stemmed into small open top fermenters and cold soaked for 5 to 10 days, with a small percentage of whole bunches included to accentuate the spicy perfumed aromas. The juice was then fermented with indigenous yeasts, and plunged by hand to extract a good amount of colour and tannins.

It was pressed immediately upon reaching dryness and a portion was transferred to French oak barrels for maturation. After a full malolactic fermentation in spring, the wine was bottled in February of 2021.