Pinot Noir 2021

This cuvée blends Pinot Noir grapes selected from several Martinborough vineyards, at the southern end of New Zealand's North Island. A large share of the fruit comes from Te Muna Road, on the Martinborough Terrace. Alluvial silt soils over deep gravels provide remarkable natural drainage, while the cool, dry climate favours slow ripening, concentration of fruit and fine tannins.

The grapes are harvested by hand, then gently crushed and vinified in open-top fermenters with minimal intervention. Daily punch-downs ensure gentle extraction, before skin maceration of around 20 days. The wine is then aged for 11 months in French oak barriques, 15% of them new, then rests for a further nine months in stainless-steel tanks. It is bottled without fining or filtration.

This wine reveals notes of black fruits, black cherry, floral perfume, freshly turned earth, fresh mushroom, herbes de Provence, game, sweet spices and pink peppercorn. The medium-bodied palate is supple and subtle, carried by silky fruit, well-integrated freshness and ripe tannins. Its savoury, spicy finish elegantly extends the earthy expression of Martinborough Pinot Noir.

Introduced in 1819, winegrowing was greatly developed by Jean-Baptiste Pompallier, a French Marist missionary. Sent to Oceania in 1837, he settled there from January 1838 to develop New Zealand's vineyards. The first quality vineyards were established in the Hawke's Bay region in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After production setbacks caused first by phylloxera and then by the First World War, the vineyards began to expand again during the Second World War, when their area doubled. Today New Zealand has 10 major wine regions spread across the North and South Islands, the largest of which is Marlborough. Most of New Zealand's wine regions have a maritime climate. The country's long, narrow shape means that vineyards are never more than 120 km from the coast, and most are much closer than that (with the exception of the semi-continental Central Otago region). A backbone of mountains running down the centre of the country shields most of the main wine regions from the strong westerly winds of the Tasman Sea known as the "Roaring Forties". Because of these winds, there are few wine regions on New Zealand's west coast. The quality and reputation of New Zealand wines are well established. Indeed, the country produces some of the best and most acclaimed Sauvignon Blanc in the world. And it is no coincidence that New Zealand has made Sauvignon Blanc its symbol, just like its sheep, its kiwis and its legendary haka!