South Brook Vineyard Pinot Noir

This Pinot Noir displays lifted aromas of red current, dark berry fruits, cassis and mocha, with a subtle green peppercorn spice. The palate is rich, displaying complex dark cherry and mixed berry fruits, layered over fresh herbs and cinnamon spice notes, finishing with refined acidity and rounded oak tannins.

WINEMAKING

The 2023 growing season started with above average bunch numbers in most districts in Marlborough. Unsettled and cooler weather over flowering resulted in loose and lighter bunches, with the net effect of producing average yields across most varieties and regions. The weather around the time of veraison was unstable, and at times threatening. We just missed out on the destruction of the cyclone that hit the east coast of the North Island. The weather then settled into a pattern reminiscent of the harvests in the early 2000s. The nights were particularly cool, and this helped to arrest any small levels of botrytis that had started in the early unsettled weather. It was a vintage where patience was rewarded and those who waited harvested fully ripe grapes with concentrated flavours and classic acidity. The fruit for this wine was handselected, hand-picked then taken straight to the winery. Our Pinot Noir was cold soaked for seven days, prior to five individual wild fermentations. A total of 40% of the ferments included whole bunch components, for additional complexity. After fermentation, the must was pressed and the wine aged for ten months in French oak barriques, with a total of 40% new oak.

2023 Tasting Note 2022 Tasting Note 2021 Tasting Note