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.
2017 Vintage
“Complex aromas of chocolate, dark plum and hints of mushroom lead to a palate of sweeter fruit flavours, supported by supple silky tannins with notes of herbs and oak spice on a long lingering finish.” Olly Masters (Winemaker)
Vintage Notes
The 2017 season in Central Otago, was one of the coolest on record. Despite a warm start to the season in September, the rest of spring was cool and it stayed that way throughout summer. There was also more rain than usual in the first half of the season. And the winds normally experienced in spring were unrelenting and continued through the summer. However, autumn had nearly perfect conditions and that helped with ripening. Our fruit was harvested in very good condition with smaller berries and bunches and whilst it is good for quality, it meant yields were substantially down on averages. The Growing Degree Days (GDDs) were 960 (with next lowest in 2009 at 1010). This Pinot Noir was hand-picked at between 1.5-5 tonnes per hectare.
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 (34%), 777 (24%), 667 (14%), 4 (10%), 115 (8%) Abel (7%), 6 (2%), & 114 (1%) |
| Planting | 2004/05/07, Altitude: 210 – 350m | Harvested | 11 April – 1 May 2017 |
| Harvest Analysis | Brix: 22.7-23.3 / pH: 3.37-3.4 / TA: 6.9-8.3 g/l | Bottled | 9 August 2018 (Stelvin closure) |
| Wine Analysis | Alc: 13.5% / pH: 3.54 / TA: 6.1 g/l | Cellaring | 2 – 10+ yrs |
Winemaking
The fruit was chilled overnight before crushing 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. A whole bunch component was included (6%). 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 24 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 (28% new, 300 litre barrels). The wine was inoculated for malolactic fermentation which took place in the following spring, racked out of barrels prior to the 2018 vintage then returned to tank and barrels. It was filtered prior to bottling in August 2018.
