Vinification: Several clones of Pinot Noir were handpicked into 400kg bins and carefully transported north in a refrigerated truck to our winery in Hastings. Upon arrival a selection of small format open top fermenters were arranged to receive the individual clones with a combination of 50% whole clusters divided with fully destemmed fruit into some, while others received 100% destemmed fruit. Ferments were encouraged to start naturally with wild yeast and hand plunging commenced twice daily to extract colour, flavour and tannin. Post ferment the wines were gently basket pressed with each parcel kept separate for maturation in French oak. Malolactic fermentation occurred naturally once the wines warmed up in spring, and the finished wines were finally sulfured in January 2023. A careful barrel selection process followed and after 12 months maturation the wine was assembled and spent several months in tank prior to filtration without finings. The final blend includes 30% whole bunch and 30% new oak.
