Blank Canvas Anthem Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019

Description

Cherry, Oak, Strawberry

"Fabulous bouquet of delicacy and perfume, complexity and charm. Aromas of pressed roses and cherry flesh, there’s a fine savoury quality layering finesse and detail. Oak offers moments of spice and sweetness. On the palate - delicious, layers of texture and finesse with flavours to reflect the variety and complexity with strawberry and cherry, red apple and spice. Perfectly balanced with a fine chalky mouthfeel, fine tannins and medium+ acid line. Best drinking from 2023 through 2027+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Dec 2022

Matt and Sophie both grew up in the enlivening surroundings of Central Otago. With this formative connection we dreamed early on of finding a special vineyard to venerate Central Otago. We found it in the Anthem Vineyard, cradled in the Gibbston Valley. This traditionally cooler subregion delivers a sublime red cherry, raspberry and violet expression of Pinot Noir, chaperoned by a suite of savoury, sappy undertones. Wild fermentation, 40% whole clsuter inclusion and a low-toast oak regime gives elegance, complexity and structure to the wine. Maintaining our minimalist philosophy, we bottle without filtration which means nothing is taken away.

2019 got off to a favourite start with healthy spring growth, though a frost in mid-November did impact some young vine shoots and led to lower yields at harvest. A warm and dry summer created excellent flowering conditions followed by a cooler than average autumn, in contrast to the very warm and dry 2018 vintage, meant acidities are vibrant and fruit expression is high toned and fragrant. We harvested the Anythem Vineyard Pinot Noir on the 29th April 2019, allowing the fruit a long period for flavour development on the vine.

Soilds are older wind-blown silt and loess deposits atop tocky schist alluvium gravels. Vines are trained on a high-cordon system and are VSP trained, with an average vine age of 20 years old. Anthem Vineyard was among the earliest vineyards planted in the Gibbston Valley subregion.

We hand-picked a small parcel of the Anthem Vineyard, Cliff Block, into fruit trays and transported it in a refrigerated truck overnight to our winery in Marlborough. We left 40% of the fruit in whole clusters and crushed the balance over the bunches. it underwent a 5 day cold soak followed by spontaneous fermentation. Hand-plunging during the 14-day fermentation period wsa followed by draining the free-run wine and pressing the remaining wine to French oak barriques (35% new) where it matured for 12 months, undergoing natural malolactic fermentation. It was racked to one tank to gently settle for 3 months and gently racked again, finally being bottled without filtration on 3rd June 2020.