DISTANT LAND RESERVE MARLBOROUGH PINOT NOIR 2008
SEASON
The La Nina weather pattern that dominated the summer of 2008 was a blessing to the nation's grape growers. The prolonged warm, dry summer meant that all the grapes on the vine were able to ripen fully without disease pressure, yielding well-developed, intensely flavoured fruit.
VINEYARD
Our Pinot Noir grapes come from a single vineyard in the Spring Creek area of Marlborough. The vineyard features clay based soils which inhibit the vigour of the vine and encourage excellent flavour development. This allows low cropping of the vine for intense flavours in the berries. Ripe fruit was selected from a single Pinot Noir clone.
WINEMAKING
The grapes were hand picked over two days, chilled and transported to Auckland. In the winery they were gently de- stemmed into 3 ton open-top fermenters. The vats were cold soaked for 3 days and then inoculated using seven different strains of yeast. The ferments were worked by only hand plunging to encourage maximum flavour extraction while still being gentle to the wine. The wine completed its maturation in select French Oak Barriques for 16 months.
WINEMAKER'S NOTES
The nose features cherry with a lifted vanilla spice fragrance. Savoury toasty cassis characters on the palate lead to a black cherry finish.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Superb with any red meat or pasta dish, particularly dishes with a rich flavour.
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TECHNICAL DETAILS |
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| Winemaker |
Andy Nicole |
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| Grape Variety |
100% Pinot Noir |
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| Region |
Spring Creek, Marlborough |
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| Harvest Date |
April 13th and 14th |
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| Bottling Date |
September 2009 |
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| Alcohol |
14.0% |
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| Acidity |
5.2 g/l |
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| Residual sugar |
<1.0 g/l |
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| Oak |
14 months French Oak Barriques |
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