Tasting Notes:

Deep ruby in colour with a ripe, dark raspberry and plum fruit subtly lifted by layers of dark red florals and complex savoury aromas of dark chocolate, cigar box, barbequed meat and olive tapenade.

The palate of Auntsfield Estate Pinot Noir shows a rich silky texture, which is full and concentrated.

Flavours of ripe raspberry and dark plumbs fill the pallet - supported by powerful yet fine grained tannins giving a plush yet silky texture to the pallet with seamless length.

Vinification:

Auntsfield Estate Pinot Noir was made with a minimalist philosophy, designed to enable the characteristics of the grapes and the vineyard to be revealed.

The fruit was hand-harvested, hand-sorted, gently destemmed and gravity-fed to tank.

Fermented with a combination of indigenous and cultured yeasts, careful hand plunging was utilised to gently extract flavours and tannins from the skins.

Maturation occurred in French oak barriques for approximately 10 months.

Viticulture:

The 2016 season was characterised by moderate yields resulting excellent vine growth from rainfall at key growth stages in the Spring.

A very dry and warm summer followed with vineyard work focused around reduced yields by hand to optimal levels.

This allowed the fruit to ripen over an extended period of time in the cool and settled conditions of early autumn.

A season that rewarded vigilance, lower cropping levels and delayed ripening in the vineyard.

Technical Details:

Alc. 14.0%
pH 3.43
TA 5.1

About Auntsfield Estate:

Hidden in the heart of this youthful Marlborough grape country there is a small wine cellar, set in the side of a hill.

Nothing unusual in that, you may think, as there are now a few cellars around the province.

However, this cellar has something no other does.

With four massive gum trees standing sentinel, the rammed earth cellar, with dirt floor and Manuka log roof, is an impressive reminder that winemaking in Marlborough does in fact have a proud past.

This cellar was the first of its kind to be built in Marlborough in 1873. It was another 100 years before the first of the new era vines were planted in the region.