Te Whare Ra Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019

Te Whare Ra Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019"Complex and enticing, the bouquet shows sweet cherry, game, dried mushroom, thyme and nutmeg aromas, followed by a beautifully flowing palate that's juicy and fleshy. Gorgeously maturing with elegance and finesse, it has a sensually appealing mouthfeel that lingers on for a great deal. Certified organic. At its best: now to 2031" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, May 2024 "Complex and deeply fragrant, varietal and pure with a core of red berries and mineral, site

"Complex and enticing, the bouquet shows sweet cherry, game, dried mushroom, thyme and nutmeg aromas, followed by a beautifully flowing palate that's juicy and fleshy. Gorgeously maturing with elegance and finesse, it has a sensually appealing mouthfeel that lingers on for a great deal. Certified organic. At its best: now to 2031" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, May 2024

"Complex and deeply fragrant, varietal and pure with a core of red berries and mineral, site and time. Red currant and black currant, cherry and red apple skin. The oak is layered in with scents of clove and vanilla along with complex toasty qualities. Complex, dry and new, flavours mirror the bouquet, textures from firm polished tannins and back bone of acidity. A lengthy and complex finish, a wine perfect for food and will also cellar well with best drinking from late 2024 through 2032+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier

"Bright, vibrant Pinot Noir with dark cherry, plum, mixed spice, and a tangy texture. Fresh, high energy wine that is accessible now but promises to age well" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, The Real Review

This Pinot Noir exhibits gorgeous, fragrant notes of ripe strawberry and dark plums with hints of baking spice, mocha, and some complex savoury undertones. The fleshy, silky tannins combine with vibrant fruit flavours of omega plum, strawberry and some blue fruit notes. The palate has serious weight and flows from fruit purity into more savoury and complex flavours. The wine has great fleshiness and depth and finishes with a lingering persistence of fruit, fine tannin and well integrated oak. Bottled un-fined and with minimal filtration.

All winemakers are a bit obsessed with Pinot Noir because it is the most challenging variety to grow and to make - and very unforgiving of mistakes. For our style of Pinot Noir, we prefer the f lavour profiles from the southern side of Marlborough – this sub-region is called the Southern valleys or Southern clays. The soil types in this area of Marlborough are much older than the Wairau plains, they also have much lower fertility and a much higher clay component which gives the wines more depth and structure. We love Pinot Noir that is silky, supple and savoury and this sub-region delivers that for us. 5182 T his release is a blend from three certified organic vineyards – our TWR home block, and the Clayvin and Wrekin Vineyards in the Brancott Valley.  We were very excited to be able to procure some fruit from those sites as we have seen the quality those vineyards have produced in the past.  2019 was a stellar vintage in Marlborough for Pinot Noir. This resultant blend has great fruit weight and power, with the depth of flavour and complexity. The wine has a great approachable f leshiness but also the line and length for some serious cellaring. 

Over the spring we experienced regular rainfall which was great, but a big downpour over flowering significantly reduced the crops of earlier varieties like Pinot Noir, so those were down on our usual tonnage.  The summer that followed was one of the warmest on record, and was also very dry. Thankfully the sites we work with have good access to water as needed and good organic matter - so those two factors plus the clay component of those soils meant that the vines were able to have access to stored moisture and avoided the stress that impacted some other sites. T his excellent growing season has resulted in very balanced, fleshy wines with great concentration and fine, ripe, silky tannins. This 2019 Pinot Noir is enjoyable to drink now and will also benefit from careful cellaring for 5-7 years.

All fruit for this wine was hand-picked, hand-sorted then destemmed and berry sorted as to ensure that only pristine, perfect Pinot berries make it into the fermenters. Gently transferred to small one tonne open fermenters, hand plunged twice daily. Some parcels small % whole bunch. Cold soak for 7-8 days, 5-7 day ferment, & up to 14 days post ferment maceration. Pressed off on taste then filled to oak after 24hrs.  In oak for 11 months – all French oak, various different coopers, 26% new, balance in older oak.