“Cantata” Pinot Noir 2022

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.

2022 Vintage (SPECIAL PRE-RELEASE)

“This dark ruby-red Pinot has fruit-driven aromas of red berries, dark plum, hints of chocolate and leather; the rich and dense palate finishes with fine ripe tannins.” Olly Masters (Winemaker

Vintage Notes

Warm temperatures at the start of the season, without the usual buffeting spring winds, resulted in rapid growth, aided by the moist ground from a wet winter. The warmth continued to flowering at the end of November before a cool front slowed growth but it was a good fruit set. January was hot and dry with a few consecutive days over 30°C+. Conditions stayed warm for the rest of the season. Harvest started at the end of March and continued over the next month. This was a dream season in terms of fruit quality and vine health with yields also above the long-term average. Berry size was even aiding flavour consistency and varietal expression, with good colour development and tannin ripeness in the Pinot Noir. This season will be remembered as one of the best. The Pinot Noir for this blend was hand-picked at an average yield of 5.8 tonnes per hectare and Growing Degree Days (GDDs) were 1152.

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 (22%) 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 13% new oak. The wine was racked once to tank prior to the 2023 vintage, returned to barrel then filtered prior to bottling in February 2023