Greywacke, Marlborough Pinot Noir

All fruit was grown in Marlborough’s Southern Valleys and principally sourced from the Yarrum Vineyard, situated on the ridge between the Brancott and Ben Morven Valleys, with other parcels coming from hillsides in the Omaka Valley. Typical of these sub-regions, the wind-blown loess soils are comprised of clay-loams with differing degrees of gravel content. The vineyards are cultivated to a mixture of clones, predominantly the Dijon clones 115, 777 and 667, with smaller parcels of UCD5, 828, 943 and AM10/5. The vineyards are all hillside plantings trained to two-cane VSP (vertical shoot positioning) with a high vine density of 3800 plants per hectare.

A relatively dry winter was followed by unsettled spring conditions, including isolated frosts, which had the team monitoring temperatures and directing frost-fighting efforts. Minimal damage was sustained, but the intermittent cold nights continued well into spring, disrupting flowering and causing low berry numbers in some varieties. As summer progressed, El Niño settled into its signature warm, dry conditions, and Marlborough recorded a record high of 34.9 C in early February with very few rain episodes, to the point A drought was declared in mid-March. The harvest for Pinot Noir commenced on the last day of February. Despite the weather challenges, this was a superb, near-perfect harvest of pristine fruit with a generous depth of flavour across all varieties. Growing degree days tallied 1348, slightly warmer than the long-term average.

The grapes were hand-harvested and chilled overnight prior to hand-sorting. Most of the fruit was then destemmed into open-top fermenters, the majority of which also had a percentage of whole-bunch inclusion. The fruit was left to soak on skins prior to the onset of indigenous yeast fermentation, then plunged daily. After fermentation, the wine was pressed, racked and filled into French oak barriques (30% new). Individual clones were barrel-aged separately for 11 months, before blending in January 2024. The wine was bottled in June 2024.