Tasting description
This complex, deep ruby coloured Pinot Noir is fragrant with dried flowers and forest floor aromas. On the palate it shows ripe blackberry fruit with a hint of exotic spice and fine, savoury tannins. Full-bodied and strongly structured, this wine is already drinking well, but will gain further structure and develop beautifully with cellaring 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 14.0% TA = 6.4 g/L pH = 3.55
Vintage
Overall, 2009 was an excellent vintage in Cheviot Hills. After a very good, even flowering, the weather was fine and warm throughout summer. The vines were shoot thinned to achieve good fruit distribution and an open canopy, while fruit thinning ensured a well-balanced, concentrated and even crop. The fruit was harvested by hand about two weeks earlier than usual between 31 March and 3 April 2009, with very high level of ripeness and intense flavour.
Food match
Mt Beautiful Pinot Noir 2009 works wonderfully with rare roast beef, rabbit and rarebit.
Other Vintages
Mt Beautiful Cheviot Hills Pinot Noir 2008 (on allocation)
Mt Beautiful Cheviot Hills Pinot Noir 2007 (sold out)
