Pinot Noir

VITICULTURE All fruit was grown in Marlborough’s Southern Valleys and principally sourced
from the Yarrum Vineyard situated on the Brancott / Ben Morven ridge. Typical of this subregion,
the wind-blown loess soils are comprised of clay-loams with differing degrees of gravel
content. The various source blocks are cultivated to a mixture of pinot noir clones,
predominantly the Dijon clones 115, 777 and 667, with smaller parcels of UCD5 and AM 10/5.
The vineyards are primarily hillside plantings trained to two-cane VSP (vertical shoot
positioning) with a high vine density of 3788 plants per hectare.
WINEMAKING The grapes were hand-harvested and chilled overnight prior to hand sorting.
Most of the fruit was then de-stemmed into open-top fermenters, the majority of fermentations
with partial whole-bunch inclusion. The fruit was allowed to soak on skins prior to the onset of
indigenous yeast fermentation, then plunged daily. After fermentation the wine was pressed,
racked and filled to French oak barriques (40% new).
Individual clones were separately aged in barrel for 16 months, prior to blending in August.
Once in tank the wine was egg white fined for clarity, then bottled in November 2015 with
alcohol 14.0%, pH 3.75 and acidity 5.2 g/l.