Mystery Wairau Valley Pinot Noir 2016

Description

• French oak
• Ripe brambly fruit
• Spice & nuts
• Silky smooth

"Five years old and still super fresh with secondary earthy flavours kicking in to make this medium-bodied wine an intensely flavoursome, silky smooth little number. Awesome value for money and damned delicious. The grapes were hand-picked, destemmed, cold soaked for six days and fermented with wild yeasts then aged in French oak barrels, 33% new, for 10 months"

"Maturing gracefully, it is lively, with cherry, plum, spice and nut flavours, fresh and savoury, and good complexity" Michael Cooper, Michael Cooper's Buyer's Guide 2021

Bright crimson colour in the glass. Red cherries and ripe brambly fruits, with a light savoury and earthy background. Soft, full and fruity, with ripe cherry and crushed berry flavours, some defining oak tannin structure, gentle acidity and a generous weight. Will reward careful cellaring over serveral years through the development of bottle age complexities, and is already drinking well.

Another very warm and dry season, with the second direst and the warmest since winegrowing commenced in Marlborough. Rain in January helped to size-up the berries to be larger than normal, despite the otherwise dry season. Warmth over the harvest months lowered the acid in the fruit at harvest.

The fruit for this wine was either hand-harvested or machine harvested, then destemmed into open vats for cold soak followed by a warm wild ferment. Traditional hand-pluning was used to manage the cap, and the wine underwent malolactic fermentation while ageing in French oak barrels.

Food Pairing: A great match with Asian and wild duck, rare lamb and venison, char-grilled chicken or tuna.