Our Pinot Noir is the jewel in the crown – the focal point in our repertoire of wines ‘The High Note’ was inspired by Misha’s opera-singing mother and her early life spent in the theatre.
2021 Vintage
“Dark ruby red, this Pinot Noir has a complex nose of wild thyme, rose-hip, red fruits and white spice and a beautiful palate that blends sweet fruit with a mineral purity.” 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 6 tonnes per hectare with excellent fruit condition and flavours. Growing Degree Days (GDDs) for this season were 1114
Food Match
This Pinot Noir is very versatile and great with lamb, venison and veal, and a large range of vegetable dishes especially mushrooms. It is also the perfect accompaniment to game birds such as quail, pheasant, turkey and duck.
Details
| Region | Central Otago, New Zealand | Vineyard | Estate-grown, single vineyard |
| Sub-region | Bendigo | Variety/ Clones | UCD5 (35%), 115 (33%), 114 (6%), 6 (8%), 4 (3%) & Abel (21%) |
| Planting | 2004/05/07, Altitude: 210 – 350m | Harvested | 6 – 22 April 2021 |
| Harvest Analysis | Brix: 23.5-25.4 / pH: 3.47-3.67 / TA: 6.4-9.5 g/l | Bottled | 9 February 2022 (Stelvin closure) |
| Wine Analysis | Alc: 14% / pH: 3.6 / TA: 6.0 g/l | Cellaring | 2 – 8+ yrs |
Winemaking
The fruit was chilled overnight before crushing the next day typically as 1.5 and 4 tonne lots. The crushed fruit was then cold soaked for 5-7 days after then allowed to warm as the natural yeast ferment took place. An average of 12% whole bunch component was included. 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 26 days on skins the wines were then pressed to tank where they were settled for 1–2 days before being racked into French oak hogsheads (18% new 300 litre barrels). The wine was inoculated for malolactic fermentation which took place in the following spring, then racked out of barrels and filtered prior to bottling in Feb 2022.
