Decibel Martinborough Pinot Noir 2021

Balanced and harmonious, offering a seductive mouthful of refined fruit. A come-hither Pinot Noir, it coats the palate with its suave and mellow texture. The tannins act like the water coming from a shower edge, bathing the side of the cheeks from top to bottom with a seamless, savoury coating. The finish is lengthy and sinewy, drawing out the palate and leaving a fragrant ending - all tea leaf, earth, cedar, red cherry and more.

Martinborough sits in a perfect Pinot Noir pocket on the lower north island. To the west of Martinborough is the Rimutaka Mountain ranges, protecting the region from the westerly rains. To the southeast lies the Aorangi Range and due east are the foothills leading up the coast of the North Island. There is, however, some exposure to the cold southerlies coming up through Palliser Bay in the spring that limit flowering and result in low- yielding vines producing fruit of high intensity. This wine was produced from an organically run, dry-farmed block with a unique clay soil structure over top of free-draining former river bed. Slightly more elevated than the typical river terrace soils than most of Martinborough, this vineyard has heat exposure with a northeast aspect.

After hand harvesting by clone across the vineyard into small crates the grapes were destemmed and crushed however leaving some whole bunch (5-50%) and stems in the ferments ranging from 1 tonne to 3-tonne ferments. Some ferments were inoculated and some were fermented wild. The wine was then pressed into the tank and settle for one or two days before putting into French oak barriques (15% new), unsulphured but kept cold over winter. In the spring the barrels were allowed to warm up naturally and finish malolactic fermentation. A small amount of sulphur was added post-MLF and kept cold over summer before being blended and went to bottle with no fining in February 2020. The wine was then aged in bottle for 18 months before its release in August 2021.