Greystone Pinot Noir 2008

Elite Gold Medal: Air New Zealand Wine Awards 2009

A complex array of sweet berry fruit with hints of cloves and spice on the nose.
The palate has a luscious full-bodied entry with smooth integrated tannins which give way to a lingering finish of fresh juicy acidity. Flavours of wild blackberry and ripe raspberries combined with an earthiness and mild spice.
A symbiotic match for local lean lamb, this wine is showing beautifully now but will continue to reveal new layers over the next three years.

Viticulturist's Notes:
Three North-West facing blocks on Greystone Vineyard. The blocks are sloping and steep in places with wind blown loess over clay and limestone deposits. Protected by altitude and aspect these blocks enjoy a long growing season. Density 2500 vines per hectare on VSP two cane trellis.

Winemaker's Notes:
Our Pinot Noir come solely from Greystone vineyard and was harvested at optimum ripeness with the grapes in healthy condition. Bunches were destemmed before small batch fermentation with 100 % native yeasts. All batches were hand plunged four times daily to extract tannin, colour and promote good yeast health. We held the batches on skins to increase the smoothness on the palate allowing the tannin to integrate nicely into the wine. All parcels of wine were aged in French Oak (28% new) for 11 months before final blending.

Date of Harvest: 28 March 2008 to 11 April 2008
Brix at Harvest: 24.3

What others say:

Bob Campbell MW BobsWineReviews.com 90 points out of 100
"Elegant wine with an intriguing mix of sweet cherry and savoury flavours. Supple Pinot Noir in a light and almost succulent style. Sweet fruit balances pleasantly drying tannins. Surprising power is evidenced by the wine's lingering finish".

The judges at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards said:

"A silky and supple wine showing ripe red/dark cherry flavours with a subtle seasoning of spice"

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