Info for wine tragics & anoraks
The Vineyard
2021 Vintage & Season
2022 Vintage & Season
2023 Vintage & Season
2021 Season & Vintage
A once in 10 year growing season with conditions lining up. accompanied with obsessive viticulture. This included judicious pruning at the open of the season (we use 2 cane vertical shoot positioning). The crop was uneffected by frost this year. Ahead of veraison, a comprehensive hand-thinning of the fruiting zone was completed to maximise airflow and light among the bunches. This year we thoroughly exposed the eastern sides of the rows where the kinder morning light falls. We left some dappling cover on the harsher afternoon sun West orientation. No irrigation at all due to well-timed rainfall. There was however evidence of heat stress in the vineyard; it is possible this helped concentrate flavour but is not ideal for long term plant health. Cropping was light even by Wairarapa standards - "hen and chicken" and uneven ripening told the story of a poor flowering season throughout the district. Growing conditions created big canopies that required continual management even under netting. The culimation was low yields but good firm bunches and beautiful small berries bristling with savory sweet flavours and toasty browned seeds. Harvested by hand with the spontaneous and gratefully received help of our brilliant neighbours. Two picks. One at 22.0 brix, the other two weeks later at 25.4 brix. These are the wines that resulted ...
2021 Pinot Noir
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Single vineyard, premium Pinot Noir.
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At harvest : 22 brix. TA 7.5, pH 3.39
Predominantly Abel with approximately 20% or so clones 5 and 10/5. Hand-harvested on 26 March. Destemmed and straight to steel to ferment over 11 days with only natural heat and cooling. Light SO2, yeast and nutrients. Hand-plunged twice daily. The cap was active from the off, with popping bubbles and foam as the yeasts got to work.
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Straight away colour, mouthfeel and balanced tannins were standout features. With apparent black fruits and spice it was described by a local winemaker as "an iron fist in a velvet glove'. Into 4-year old french oak it went for 11 months. The velvet glove is still there with adundant blackberry and doris plum fruit flavours. Maybe a snitch of coffee and dark chocolate. It is a classic Wairarapa expression of Pinot Noir - structured and savory. We really like it. Will drink well now and, we think, reward you further with upwards of 10 years in the cellar. Good luck with that!
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Single vineyard, premium Pinot Noir.
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At harvest : 22 brix. TA 7.5, pH 3.39
Predominantly Abel with approximately 20% or so clones 5 and 10/5. Hand-harvested on 26 March. Destemmed and straight to steel to ferment over 11 days with only natural heat and cooling. Light SO2, yeast and nutrients. Hand-plunged twice daily. The cap was active from the off, with popping bubbles and foam as the yeasts got to work.
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Straight away colour, mouthfeel and balanced tannins were standout features. With apparent black fruits and spice it was described by a local winemaker as "an iron fist in a velvet glove'. Into 4-year old french oak it went for 11 months. The velvet glove is still there with adundant blackberry and doris plum fruit flavours. Maybe a snitch of coffee and dark chocolate. It is a classic Wairarapa expression of Pinot Noir - structured and savory. We really like it. Will drink well now and, we think, reward you further with upwards of 10 years in the cellar. Good luck with that!
2021 Pinot Noir Rose
Caro
2022 Pinot Rose
2021. Single vineyard, premium Pinot Noir Rose.
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Tiny handpick. Chilled and rested for several hours before pressed to ferment tank.
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At harvest - 22.6 brix. TA. pH
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2022 Growing Season
2022 Growing Season
An atypical growing season. Record smashing growing conditions, as measured in growing degree days (GDD). Favourable flowering conditions and little frost to speak of. No need to irrigate, as rains came at the right time. All looking good. Until, rain came at the wrong time and kept coming. From mid-late January, subtropical lows transported moist weather across the east coast of the North Island. Wairarapa vineyard records were set again but in the wrong direction. Growers and then winemakers needed to be at their best with canopy, fruit and then juice management. The backend of the growing season was a nightmare for many. Regrettably, we were impacted. Labour constraints compounded the already difficult job of canopy management this season.
Like 2021, we pruned juidiciously this season. Two cane, vertical shoot positioning with decent spaces between neighbouring canes. We lowered the bud count considerably. Soil conditioning was in focus with light mulching and undervine management, applications of ag lime, and some organic treatments to address root, soil and general plant biology. Canopy management was a challenge given plant vigor, with additional passes required to compensate for the rate of growth. Green thinning was nothing short of violent this year. The interrows pulsed with insect life feasting on the downed bunches. Our aim was to achieve in quality and taste what we would lack in yield or volume given the challenges of the season. We also wanted to ease the burden on vines that had had a difficult prior year (drought). We had lots of help from local birds picking berries from outside the nets.
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Harvest was a mostly single-handed affair conducted over two days. The pick was surgical; scavenging for elusive or reluctant bunches. It was a meagre harvest but frankly we were pleased to have salvaged what we did. Pleasingly, what we picked was in really good condition. Smallish berries, tight bunches. Good acids and fruit flavours. Different from 2021 in terms of taste in the vineyard. At the winery brix was 22.6 and tasting very concentrated. Let the magic of transformation begin.
Town
& Country
2022 Pinot Noir
2022. Single vineyard, premium Pinot Noir.
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anopy management and bunch thinning was undertaken to concentrate flavour and be kind on the vines, with next season in mind. What remained of the crop was incredible in taste profile. Sparse but special
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Conditions resulted in a crop ... with character. Parts of the vineyard were a little beaten up but with the fruit we targeted we knew we had a special crop. Flavours at harvest and after destemming were savoury and sweet, with a little more acid conpared to last season. But still the silky, or velvety tannins. Burgamont tea leaf. Ripe raspberries. The question was whether we could keep it. COVID
