“Cantata” Pinot Noir 2021

From the Italian word ‘cantere’ – to sing, a Cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment. With more complexity than a simple song, the Cantata is composed for the more discerning.

2021 Vintage

“Inviting aromas of cherry pie and plum are overlaid by floral notes of wild strawberry and rose petal, this Pinot Noir has a dense raspberry core and a fine texture.” Olly Masters (Winemaker)

Vintage Notes

A chilly start to the season was followed by warm settled weather enabling some fast growth on the vineyard. By the end of November when flowering started, the spring winds came with a vengeance and continued into December bringing a dip in temperatures whilst flowering occurred on the higher altitudes. By the end of December, the wind stopped but wet and cloudy conditions persisted through January. The following two months had warmer temperatures and the combination of January’s rain followed by this consistent warm period resulted in the canopy and crop levels looking much better than predicted and in spite of the uneven fruit set. The Pinot Noir for this blend was hand-picked at an average yield of 5.7 tonnes per hectare with excellent fruit condition and flavours. Growing Degree Days (GDDs) for this season were 1114.

Food Match

Pinot Noir is an extremely versatile food wine as it can pair well with either white or red meats, creamy sauces, and spicy seasonings. It’s also a wonderful match with sword fish or roast salmon. The classic Pinot Noir matches are with game birds, roasted red meats, mushrooms as well as mild and creamy cheese.

Winemaking

The fruit was chilled overnight before destemming the next day, typically as 4 tonne lots in open top fermenters with a small proportion of whole bunches (4%) retained. The crushed fruit was allowed to warm slowly for 5-7 days as the natural yeast ferment began to take place. Ferments were hand plunged 2-3 times per day. Cooling was used to ensure the ferments peaked below 32°C. The wine was then held warm (>20°C) post ferment to allow ongoing tannin integration. After an average of 24 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 and the final wine selection made by identifying ferments and barrels from all the wines post malolactic fermentation. Aiming to produce an earlier maturing style, the final selection received 14% new oak. The wine was racked once to tank prior to the 2022 vintage, returned to barrel then filtered prior to bottling in Feb 2022.