The Boneline
Waimanu Pinot Noir 2021 750ml

2021 WAIMANU PINOT NOIR

Blood orange – Blackberry bramble – Bay leaf – Hickory smoke- Chantilly lace- Supple silk

Vintage

Winter 2020 was the mildest on record on our site and this meant the vines became active earlier the normal. The region was hit with two frost events in the spring, the 30th of September event luckily missed our vineyards, but we were lightly touched on our lower terraces during the 16th of October event. We had reasonable weather over flowering with only a few cool showery periods which meant a relatively good fruit set. The new year started with some dry mild days and cool nights for January but warmed up with some typical north canterbury winds for Feb and early march, this pushed ripening along and we picked our first fruit on the 17th of March, our second earliest harvest. The weather over the harvest period was very settled but dry. This allowed us to pick our parcels of fruit without too much external pressure, meaning we were able to let the fruit hang until acid, phenolics and brix all lined up nicely. The resulting wines show great typicity, with concentrated fruit, bright acid, and great structure.

Vinification

All our Pinot Noir is hand harvested and sorted. We pick each clone separately, and they stay separate until final blending. Once at the winery fruit is gently destemmed into cuvee except 20%, which is fermented as whole clusters. After an ambient cold soak, the fruit is allowed to ferment with native yeast. The ferments are managed with gentle punch down by hand or short pump overs depending on the daily needs of the ferment and how it was tasting. The length of time in cuvee is between 21 days. We press off to tank and rack to French oak (25% New) taking only fine lees. The wine is overwintered at 12 degrees with no So2 and are warmed up in spring for a spontaneous malolactic fermentation. The barrels are racked, and the wine put together in late Feb (10 Months in barrel) and put back to old barrel for another 6 months before being lightly filtered for clarity before bottling.

Wine

Ruby heart with a red hue.

Aromatic mixture of red and black cherries, red berries, earthy undergrowth, wild herbs and an underlying smokiness.

Red fruit on entry, silky smooth texture, morello cherry, mixed spices with a river stone minerality on the reprise. Gentle support from oak, all built around a delicate frame of acidity.

Tech

Parcel 1: Picked 17/03/21 pH: 3.63 TA: 7.58 Brix: 24.20

Parcel 2: Picked 18/03/21 pH: 3.62 TA: 6.79 Brix: 24.00

Parcel 3: Picked 18/03/21 pH: 3.58 TA: 6.94 Brix: 23.60

Parcel 4: Picked 22/03/22 pH: 3.43 TA: 6.98 Brix: 23.70

Final Wine: Bottled 24/11/22 pH: 3.68 TA: 5.63 Alc: 13.7%