“Tempo” Pinot Noir 2023

Tempo (Italian for “time”) is a musical term that indicates the speed at which a piece of music or a song should be played. It’s determined by how fast or slow the beats are – it’s like the pulse of the music.

2023 Vintage

“This darker ruby-red Pinot has inviting aromas of raspberry and cherry, along with notes of thyme, honey and rosemary. The gentle plush palate has a sweet fruit finish balanced with hints of spice.” Olly Masters (Winemaker)

Vintage Notes

Overall, it was an excellent season in Central Otago with warm temperatures and very little rainfall. Early in the season, cool and cloudy weather impacted flowering which had us concerned about the subsequent fruit set but it wasn’t an issue. The warm and settled conditions throughout the season enabled excellent canopy growth. There was much less impact from the usual spring winds and we had some well-timed rain at the end of the season.
All these factors resulted in above average berry weights with bunch numbers also high from the previous season’s ideal conditions. This resulted in a record total crop, and whilst positive, the conditions did require an extra level of vineyard management with multiple row passes especially in the Pinot Noir, to ensure quality was maintained. This fruit was hand-picked at an average yield of 6.6 T/ha and Growing Degree Days (GDDs) were 1167.

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 hand-picked fruit was chilled overnight before being destemmed the following morning, typically into 4 tonne open top fermenters. An average of 15% whole bunches were retained. The 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 (15-20°C) post ferment to allow ongoing tannin integration. After an average of 25 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 10% new oak. The wine was racked once to tank prior to the 2024 vintage then filtered prior to bottling in Feb 2024.