Stoneleigh Wild Valley Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021

Description

Cherry, Oak, Vanilla

• French oak
• Black cherry & plum
• Vanilla & warm spice
• Supple tannins

"Bright, vibrant Pinot Noir with black cherry, plum, fresh herb and subtle spice and anise flavours. Well-made wine with good varietal definition. Very good value at this price" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Sep 2022

The wine opens with bright primary fruit on the nose. Cherries and rhubarb with a hint of warm spice – vanilla bean and cinnamon. The palate is full of fruit notes too, more cherry, raspberry and strawberry flavours. This makes for a rich vibrant wine, supported on ripe, supple tannins and fresh, moderate acidity with a touch of charry oak on the finish.

The ultimate expression of our minimal-intervention winemaking philosophy, Stoneleigh Wild Valley is crafted using fruit picked at optimum ripeness and is wild fermented by the micro-flora that occur naturally in the Rapaura environment.

The fruit for this wine was picked from our Stoneleigh vineyards from 5th to 30th March 2018. Pellenc Selectiv harvesters were used, which sort the ripest grapes and leave the stems and leaves in the vineyard. The fruit was pumped into open and closed top fermenters, where fermentation took place with no added yeast, using the unique microflora present on the grapes. The ferment warmed naturally to 32c at peak and was managed using twice daily irrigation over the cap or gentle plunging and rummage with nitrogen. The wine macerated on skins for up to 24 days and then was pressed onto French oak. Malolactic fermentation took place and the wine matured for around 9 months before the various tanks were blended and filtered for bottling.

Food Pairing: Try matching this gorgeously approachable wine with seared salmon as the fruit acids will cut through the richness. Duck will match well too, and you can experiment with either a fruit sauce of plum or cherry, or a spice glaze such as 5-spice, echoed in the wine. Brie or Camembert will be a classic pairing after the meal or as part of a platter with some olives and spiced nuts.