Lawson's Dry Hills Reserve Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019

Description

• French oak
• Dark cherry
• Vanilla & baking spice
• Chalky tannins

"Fabulous bouquet and palate with aromas and flavours of dark cherry and baking spices, black currant with moments of old roses and autumn leaves. Oak scents range from clove to smoke and vanilla to cinnamon. Complex and dry on the palate with a core of dark cherry and baked red berry fruits, contrasting chalky tannin textures and a youthful acid line. Excellent drinking today, but a wine that will also cellar for another three years at least. Best drinking from 2025 through 2031+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Apr 2022

Dark, red berry and black cherry aromas combine with smoky vanilla, oaky notes and a hint of spice. The palate is round and generous with lovely bright berry, cherry flavours and gentle, sweet vanilla notes. This wine has lovely weight and length, offering a wonderful balance of power and elegance. Youthful and juicy right now but will continue to evolve in the bottle and mellow with time. Enjoy for five or more years, at least.

This wine is sourced from our two Waihopai Valley vineyards and is a mixture of clone 5, 667, 115 and 777. The vines are cropped at low levels which requires careful pruning, canopy management and fruit-thinning. The vines are carefully nurtured to ensure perfect ripeness together with concentrated flavours that echo the varietal and the place it was grown.

The fruit was harvested into open-top fermenters for a three-to-six-day cold maceration before fermentation. The cap of skins that form on top was punched down by hand, three times a day, to encourage maximum flavour and colour. The wine was then left on skins between seven and 14-days post ferment, before pressing to a mixture of French oak barriques (224 litres) and puncheons (500 litres) of which 25% were new. After ten months maturation, the best clones and barrels were selected for this wine.
100% Pinot Noir, Alc 14%, pH3.6, TA 6.5, RS 0.

Food Pairing: Seafood, terrines and pates, risotto, creamy pasta dishes, chicken and char-grilled foods, roasted vegetables.