Gibbston Valley China Terrace Single Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021

Description

• French oak
• Red & dark fruit
• Anise & spice
• Graceful & delicate

"The GV team are stoked to be the winners of the Organic Winery of the Year. We are proud to be carrying the baton for Central Otago; an area where so many wineries are dedicated to producing organic and biodynamic wine. Hats off to all the organic wine producers who continue to care about the way they go about producing a bottle of wine; It's the norm for us now; all our own vineyards are BioGro certified; our last lease vineyard will be fully certified by 2024. It’s a great show because it promotes wines from producers who care about the way they produce wine, their land and their environment. Thank you to the many people who work hard during this rime; and continue to look, listen and observe"

Gently fragrant red and dark fruits mix with anise and spice on the nose. The palate is light, showcasing attractive flecks of red fruit with shimmering sappy minerals. The wine’s grace and natural delicacy are offset by its very long finish. Beguiling and worth taking time over. Beautiful drinking for the next 5 years.

Drawing from Gibbston Valley’s most intriguing vineyards, the Single Vineyard range gives full voice to site. Planted in 2001, the China Terrace Vineyard is located in the Bendigo subregion. Gently sloped and north facing, it has 4 clones of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay planted over some 7 hectares. Being over 320m, it retains a coolness relative to Bendigo’s natural warmth. This, and the complex accumulation of loess, clay and schist in its soil, gives wines of fresh, bright complexity.

A very early budburst and some particularly cold spring nights had the region on edge during October. Warm days and regular rainfall ensured healthy spring canopy establishment; however, unsettled conditions during flowering meant the crop at China Terrace was light. Over summer, meticulous canopy work exposed fruit during a warm wet and wild January. The weather settled from February onwards, warm dry conditions prevailed into harvest. March conditions were beautiful; classic Central Otago, allowing a gradual ease into ripeness.

Because of its long, slow flowering, China Terrace Pinot Noir was harvested ten days later than the lower altitude Bendigo sites. The fruit was in great condition at low sugar levels. We incorporated a range of whole cluster and maceration times, from 14-28 days, depending on the extent of whole cluster, into the ferments. The wine was pressed to barrel for 10 months, with 20% new oak used. The final blend has 33% whole cluster overall.