"Richly fruited and deeply savoury at the same time, this stylish pinot displays lifted aromas of dried cherry, ripe plum, clove, dark mushroom and cedar on the nose. The palate is succulent and concentrated, and delivers layers of fine texture backed by polished tannins. The wine is flavoursome, complex and engaging. At its best now to 2020" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Nov 2017

Coming from this Mystery winery's reserve range, this Mystery Pinot Noir stands out as medal winner vintage to vintage and this vintage is no exception.

The 2016 season was excellent for grape growing in this region. Grapes were selected from with the very best parcels of fruit on this Mystery vineyard's 'Home' Estate, typically from low yielding vines on the lowest vigour areas within the vineyard. The colour is vibrant and fresh with hints of purple. The nose is wonderfully aromatic with fresh cherry, red currant and raspberry notes. The palate has a fine silky texture with ripe fruit supported by subtle oak complexity. The finish is vibrant and long with lovely energy.

The vineyard blocks selected for this Mystery Pinot Noir receive additional attention during the growing season with a lot of leaf plucking and shoot positioning completed by hand to expose the fruit and ensure optimum ripeness.  This Mystery vineyard is planted in several combinations of rootstock and Pinot Noir clones.  For this Pinot Noir,  667, 5, 777, Abel and 113 clones were used.  In the final blend, each clone adds its own character and complexity. 

In the winery, the different batches of fruit were processed separately so that this Mystery winemaker can see the individual characters on their own.  They then add further complexities by incorporating different techniques and yeast combinations. The grapes are cold soaked for between five to seven days and then fermented at about 28-32 °C.  Depending on the vintage conditions, they allow up to 21 days post-ferment on skins before the grapes are pressed off. The wine is matured in French oak barrels (about 35% new) for 10 months.  The barrels are then individually tasted before the final blend is confirmed.