PEREGRINE Pinot noir 2015

Peregrine is one of the oldest biodynamic estates in this mountainous region, which has now earned its stripes for producing very high-quality Pinot Noir. The estate lies 20 km from Queenstown, on the side of a snow-capped mountain for more than 8 months of the year. The vineyards sit on slopes below this mountain and the vines are cooled by fresh winds (hot summers, wide temperature range). This 100% Pinot Noir cuvée comes from three sub-regions of Central Otago: Bendigo, Pisa and Gibbston. The grapes are harvested by hand: 30% as whole bunches and the rest carefully destemmed. Fermentation takes place in open vats. The wine is then aged for 10 months in old French oak barrels. This superb Pinot Noir gives off aromas of cherry, wild strawberries, fresh raspberry, redcurrant, leather, forest and floral notes, clove, tobacco and spices. Silky and soft on the palate, this refined, elegant wine shows lovely integration of fruit and tannins, coupled with a long, flavoursome finish.

Introduced in 1819, vine growing was greatly developed by Jean-Baptiste Pompallier, a French Marist missionary. Sent to Oceania in 1837, he settled there from January 1838 onwards 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 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 main 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 spine of mountains running down the centre of the country shields most of the main wine regions from the strong westerly winds off 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 renowned Sauvignon Blanc in the world. And it is no coincidence that New Zealand has made Sauvignon Blanc its emblem, just like its sheep, its kiwis and its legendary haka!