Sideways Reserve Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2020

Description

Floral, Oak, Plum

• Black Doris plum
• Cedar & olive
• Ripe red berries
• Toasty oak

Rex Pickett, author of the iconic novel 'Sideways', now introduces his new range of wines showcasing the best of New Zealand's winemaking regions.

"It’s gorgeously ripe and perfumed on the nose showing Black Doris plum, violet, cedar, olive and subtle game characters, leading to a concentrated palate that’s plush and generous. Wonderfully styled with refinement as well as opulence, finishing impressively long and satisfying. At its best: now to 2028." Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Nov 2021

The 2020 Pinot Noir shows elegance and finesse reflecting the warm growing season in the region. Strong aromatic expressions of red berries, spice and herb give way to a fresh palate with generous length and graceful oak.

The vineyard blocks selected for this wine receive additional attention during the growing season with a lot of leaf plucking and shoot positioning done by hand to expose the fruit and ensure optimum ripeness. The vineyard is planted in a combination of rootstock and Pinot Noir clones. This Pinot Noir was made from clones 667, 5, 777, and Abel. Each of which add their own character and complexity to the final blend.

In the winery, the different batches of fruit were processed separately so that the individual characters could be retained. Further complexity was then added by incorporating different techniques such as plunging and pumping over to ensure maximum flavor extraction. As well as this, different yeast combinations along with wild yeasts were used to add even more depth of flavour. The grapes were left to cold soak for 3 days prior to fermentation. They were then left on skins for 21 days before being pressed off into barrel. There they spent 12 months in oak (23% new) before the final blend was put together.