An Italian word meaning realism and truth, Verismo also describes the ‘golden age’ of opera in the late 1800s. Verismo operas are based on simple stories but ones characterized by great passion and heightened emotions.
2018 Vintage
“A complex nose of baked plum and dark chocolate with notes of sweet cigar box oak, this Reserve Pinot Noir has a generous but delicate palate of dark red fruits with a long lingering finish. Will cellar for 10+ years.” Olly Masters (Winemaker)
2018 Vintage Notes
The 2018 vintage was one of the hottest and most compressed seasons on record. After searing temperatures and record low rainfall early in the season, the winds arrived and then heavy rains hit in early to mid-February. It was challenging to manage the rapid canopy growth and keep on top of the constant threat of mildew and botrytis. In spite of the issues, we ended up with a very healthy vineyard with a smaller than usual crop due to lower average bunch weights and smaller berries. This resulted in very good fruit concentration and expressive wines. Our Growing Degree Days were 1356 and fruit for this wine was handpicked from selected premium blocks at a yield of 4.5-5.2 tonnes per hectare.
Food Match
Pinot Noir is the ultimate food wine as it’s perfect with most meats but especially lamb, venison and veal. Some of the classic Pinot Noir matches are with game birds such as quail, pheasant, turkey and duck. It can accompany a wide range of vegetable dishes, autumnal fruits as well as mild or creamy cheeses.
Details
| Region | Central Otago, New Zealand | Vineyard | Estate-grown, single vineyard |
| Variety/ Clones | UCD5 (50%), 777 (41%) Abel(9%) | ||
| Planting | 2004/2005, Altitude: 210 – 350m | Harvested | 20-23 March 2018 |
| Harvest Analysis | Brix: 23.4-25.3 / pH: 3.2-3.34 / TA: 7.1-8.9 g/l | Bottled | 3 April 2019 (Stelvin closure) |
| Wine Analysis | Alc: 13.5% / pH: 3.65 / TA: 5.8 g/l | Cellaring | 10+ yrs |
Winemaking
The fruit was chilled overnight before crushing (17% whole bunch) the next day, typically as 2 and 4 tonne lots. The crushed fruit was then cold soaked for 5-7 days after which it was allowed to warm as the natural yeast ferment took place. Cooling was used to ensure the ferments peaked below 32°C. The wine was then held warm (typically 15-20°C) post ferment to allow ongoing tannin integration. After an average of 26 days on skins the wines were then pressed to tank where they were settled for 1–2 days before being racked into 300 litre French oak barrels. The wine was inoculated for malolactic fermentation in spring. For Verismo, individual barrels are selected (post malolactic fermentation) from superior ferments originating from specific vineyard blocks resulting in 25% new oak with this vintage. The wine was then racked once prior to the 2017 vintage and returned to oak and filtered prior to bottling in April 2019.
