Amisfield Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018

Description

• French oak
• Subtle spice
• Plush red fruit
• Fine-grained tannins

Bright and perfumed aromatics. A plush and red-fruited palate. Soft, approachable fine-grained tannin. A hint of spice adds complexity. A precise acid back-bone gives good length.

Grown across the Estate with vines planted in the Waenga silty loam soils of the lower terraces and the more gravelly Lochar sandy loams of the blocks beside the winery.

Budburst on the 6th of October was normal however by late October we had unseasonably warm weather leading to flowering 2 weeks early. With heat waves continuing into January we were tracking well ahead of any previous harvests. Some storm events in February could still not halt the rapid ripening of the grape berries and we started our harvest the first week of March.

Hand-harvested fruit was cold-soaked for four to five days before natural fermentation began. Gentle, selective timing of hand-plunging and some pulse air during fermentation helped to extract the delicate skin and seed tannins. Approximately 10% whole-bunch clusters were included in some of the ferments. After fermentation winemakers tasted the wines daily to assess the tannin development and, left the wine on the skins for extended time. Maturation was 15 months in 20% tight-grain French oak.