Two Paddocks Picnic Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018

Description

Dark fruit with violet and red currant aromatics lead to a seductive elegant textural driven mouthfeel. This wine has a great fruit driven profile supported by fine elegant derived tannins. Ageability; Drink now and up to 6 years. This wine will drink well in its youth but has the potential to age.

Two Paddocks 2018 harvest will be remembered as the earliest picking date on record. A warm spring that quickly turned in to a hot summer with much warmer night time temperatures than are typically experienced in Alexandra. Ideal conditions over flowering, which was a month early, began on the 20th November. Again, perfect growing conditions meant veraison also began a month early on the 20th January and then the extreme heat and dry finished abruptly on the 1st February. Cooler temperatures over February / March thankfully slowed ripening down and intensified flavour development, but harvest still began nearly a month earlier than typical on the 14th March and was over by the 11th April.

Hand harvested, 97% de-stemmed and given 5-7 days pre-fermentation cold maceration. After an indigenous ferment the wine is given another 5-7 days post ferment time on skins. Wine is then transferred to 1-4 year old French medium toast barriques (7% new oak) for a 9 month maturation in predominantly older oak, before racking and bottling.

Featuring the Proprietor’s Grandfather, Sidney Neill – Wine Merchant, on the label, Picnic is our perennial favourite – the wine to enjoy everyday and a wonderful introduction to the pleasure of Central Otago Pinot Noir. This fruit was sourced from Two Paddock’s own estate vineyards in the Alexandra, Gibbston and Bannockburn sub-regions of Central Otago. Picnic Pinot Noir is made in a diminutive style aimed to reflect the characters that Central Otago Pinot does so very well – black and red cherry fruit, spice and a generosity that keeps you reaching for the next sip.