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Auntsfield Estate

2021

‘Heritage’

Pinot Noir   |   Marlborough - New Zealand

About

Auntsfield ‘Heritage’ Pinot Noir is made from a few of the very best barrels of the 2021 vintage, plus a small addition of the only remaining bottle of 1905. The addition of this old wine celebrates the anniversary of David Herd’s final vintage, the man who launched Auntsfield, Marlborough’s first commercial vineyard and winery, in 1892. This Pinot Noir is only made when a selection of traditionally made wine from their steepest clay hillside exhibits the intensity, complexity, balance and sense of place, required to honor its heritage.

The fruit was hand-harvested, hand-sorted, and then mostly de-stemmed with 5% retained as whole clusters. The fruit went into an open-top French oak barrel, where it fermented spontaneously. It spent 35 days on the skins before being pressed into 225L French oak barrels (20% new, 80% second use) for 18 months. At that point, the wine was blended in tank with a drop of the 1905 vintage. From there it was bottled with just a touch of sulfur. No fining or filtering.

Stats

  • Grapes: 100% Pinot Noir
  • Vineyard: Auntsfield Estate
  • Vine Age: 25-years-old
  • Soil Type: Steep hillside loess clay over fractured Greywacke rock
  • Viticulture: Practicing organic - sustainable
  • Fermentation: Native — open top oak vessel (5% whole bunch)
  • Skin Contact: 35 days
  • Aging: 18 months in 225L French oak barrels (20% new, 80% second use)
  • Alcohol: 14%
  • pH: 3.47
  • Total Acidity: 5.3 g/L
  • Total SO2: 55 ppm
  • Total Production: 105 cases

Tasting Notes

Deep ruby. The nose is savory and complex, with exotic spices, dark berry fruits and floral notes. Hints of cocoa and roasted almonds linger in the background. The palate is immensely dense and concentrated and shows an elegant complexity. Luscious dark fruit flavors integrate gamey spice. The wine has an intense depth and yet silky fine tannin structure, giving seamless length and many years of aging potential.

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