"93pts... Complex and inviting, the bouquet shows dark cherry, plum, cedar, violet and subtle vanilla aromas, followed by a beautifully weighted palate that is delectable, persistent and engaging. The wine offers wonderful fruit intensity while remaining elegant and poised, and finishes long and delightfully silky. At its best: now to 2021" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, July 2017.

Deep ruby red. Rich and concentrated. Lifted perfume of blackberry and dark cherry with hints of liquorice and cardamom. Crafted for ageing with judicious use of whole bunch fermentation and oak, this wine has complex tannins with manifold layers of ripe fruit and savoury characters.

Our winemaker selected the best Clone 115 grapes from our vineyard. These were hand harvested then destemmed but not crushed and fermented in a small stainless steel fermenter. Some (17%) whole bunches of grapes were retained and added to the fermenter to add tannin complexity. After a four day cold-soak to stabilise the colour, fermentation took place at temperatures of up to 34 degrees celsius, with frequent gentle hand-plunging. Once fermented the wine was drained off the grape skins. Then lightly settled and racked to a selection of new (40%) and seasoned French oak barriques for malolactic fermentation and 10 months maturation. The best barrels in the batch were selected by our winemaker then blended, lightly fined with fresh egg whites and bottled with only a coarse filtration.

The Delta Farm, on the south side of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley, was first established in 1848 by Constantine Dillon. It is situated to the west of Blenheim at the mouth of the Waihopai Valley. The site’s low vigour clay soils, which contrast to the high vigour loam soils closer to the Wairau River where Marlborough’s Sauvignon Blanc tends to be grown, were identified as perfect for Pinot Noir. The site was planted using the best of the Dijon clones in 2002 and 2003.
The clay soil, the elevation of the vineyard and the dynamics that make Marlborough such a successful viticulture region – lots of sunshine, warm days, cool nights and plenty of breeze- all combine to make this site ideal for the production of top quality Pinot Noir.