“Verismo” – Pinot Noir 2015 Magnum

An Italian word meaning realism and truth, Verismo also describes the ‘golden age’ of opera in the late 1800s. Verismo operas are based on simple stories but ones characterized by great passion and heightened emotions.

2015 Vintage
“Medium-dark ruby red colour with a dense nose of dark chocolate, leather and roses, the palate of this Pinot Noir is fine and pure with polished tannins, sweet fruit and a lingering finish of warm chocolate and oak.” Olly Masters (Winemaker)

Vintage Notes

The 2015 season was the game of two halves – initially cold and dry and then much warmer than normal in the latter half. We experienced dry conditions all through the season with less than 100mm of rain (versus an average of 200mm). The early cool temperatures through to the end of November, meant canopy growth started much later and was slow early on. Finally temperatures warmed up in December and enabled good flowering and fruit set and then stayed warm right through until harvest with less wind than usual. The fruit was hand-picked at between 3.35-6.2 tonnes per hectare with acids and sugars lower than normal but showing
good fruit expression. Growing Degree Days (GDDs) were 1150.

Food Match

Pinot Noir is the ultimate food wine as it’s perfect with most meats but especially lamb, venison and veal. Some of the classic Pinot Noir matches are with game birds such as quail, pheasant, turkey and duck. It can accompany a wide range of vegetable dishes, autumnal fruits as well as mild or creamy cheeses.

Details

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. Cooling was used to ensure the ferments peaked below 32ºC. The wine was then held warm (typically 15-20ºC) post ferment to allow ongoing tannin integration. After an average of 27 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. For Verismo, individual barrels are selected (post malolactic fermentation) from superior ferments originating from specific vineyard blocks resulting in 43% new oak with this vintage. The wine was then racked once prior to the 2016 vintage and returned to oak and coarse filtered prior to bottling in November 2016.