Amisfield Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017

Description

• Nutty Oak
• Black Doris plum
• Dark cherry
• Spice & anise

"From Amisfield's vineyard in the Pisa subregion. A cool vintage has allowed the grapes to reach full maturity with good, bright acidity. An elegant, vibrant wine, perhaps more refined than usual, with plum, dark cherry, spice, anise, thyme and nutty oak flavours" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review Feb 2019

Amisfield Pinot Noir presents delectable Black Doris plum on the nose with lifted aromatics from the concentrated smaller berries. The wine is tight and precise on the palate with terroir expressive minerality. This is heightened with plush red fruits and some intriguing dry herbal notes. This wine has interesting layers of expression which will provide delight with contemplation.

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

An unsettled growing season with rain during December flowering and then blasts of winter conditions in January and February. On January 19th there was a storm front with 30cm of snow and a weekend of rain and freezing temperatures. The summer was very weak with our measure of "growing degree days" being on the very low side; 824 compared to 2016’s 1012. The cold continued with frosts throughout harvest which slowed sugar ripening and the Pinot Noir was harvested on flavour and acid balance. The berries and bunches were smaller than usual however picking took the same amount of time. The smaller berries gave great flavour concentration, with lower alcohols and great acidity.

Hand-harvested fruit was cold soaked for four to five days before the natural fermentation began. Gentle, selective timing of handplunging 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 the wines were tasted 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.