(on allocation)
Tasting description
This complex Pinot Noir presents a clear, bright garnet colour with crimson hue at the edge. The nose is subtle, showing a mixture of bramble aromas, a touch of aromatic oak and a floral character. On the palate, the wine is very bright and lifted with lovely brambly fruit, backed by dry earth and fragrant oak, finishing long. This young wine will develop beautifully over the next three years.
Winemaking
The fruit for this Pinot Noir was de-stemmed and gravity fed to tank. Blocks were fermented separately, but as blends of different clones to add complexity and aid integration of flavours.
Ten days of cold soaking were followed by a fast ferment, with plunging twice a day to achieve
an aromatic wine with good tannin stability. After a week of post-ferment maceration, the grapes were pressed, with free-run and pressings combined. The wine was then aged for 11 months
in French oak barrels, 30% of which were new, producing a wine of appealing complexity.
Analysis at bottling: Alcohol 12.5% TA = 6.4 g/L RS = 1.3 g/L pH = 3.56
Vintage
This was our second Cheviot Hills Pinot Noir vintage. After a good growing season with adequate rain, the vintage was warm and dry during the day and cool at night. We shoot thinned the vines before flowering and leaf plucked later to allow good fruit exposure, while retaining a layer of leaves over the fruit to protect them from direct sunlight and to maintain aromatic intensity.
Cool weather in autumn delayed harvest, and we eventually hand-picked the fruit in excellent condition on 21st April.
Food match
Mt Beautiful Pinot Noir 2008 works wonderfully with rare roast beef, rabbit and rarebit.
Other Vintages
Mt Beautiful Cheviot Hills Pinot Noir 2009 (currently available)
Mt Beautiful Cheviot Hills Pinot Noir 2007 (sold out)
