Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2022

Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2022Smoky oak Black cherry Brown spice Silky tannins A classic Bannockburn profile on the nose of red and black cherry, brown spice and a hint of smokey savouriness. The palate is flush with cherry fruit along with blackberry and satsuma plum. Spice notes linger in the mid palate, before long flowing finish and a silky fine tannin, a hallmark of larger berries from the growing season. Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Pinot Noir will age gracefully for the next

• Smoky oak
• Black cherry
• Brown spice
• Silky tannins

A classic Bannockburn profile on the nose of red and black cherry, brown spice and a hint of smokey savouriness. The palate is flush with cherry fruit along with blackberry and satsuma plum. Spice notes linger in the mid palate, before long flowing finish and a silky fine tannin, a hallmark of larger berries from the growing season. Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Pinot Noir will age gracefully for the next 10 years given optimal cellaring conditions.

Grapes for Bannockburn Pinot Noir come exclusively from estate and winery managed vineyards situated on the south side of the Kawarau River. While subject to the seasonal and diurnal temperature extremes of Central Otago, each vineyard has a specific terroir and a variety of low fertility soil types: light sands, clays, loams and gravels. The majority of grapes come from earlier plantings which are predominantly clones 5, 6 and 10/5, while more recent plantings are a mix of Dijon clones 113, 115, 667 and 777.

The 2022 season swung the pendulum again for Central Otago. This season was characterised by a very warm summer, punctuated by vital rain events, culminating in a bumper crop that was harvested 1-2 weeks ahead of long term average. The benign, warm flowering conditions in December resulted in excellent fruit set and healthy canopies that galloped through a dry January. They were replenished by rain in February before harvest began in mid-March and was wrapped up by mid-April.

We started harvesting our Pinot Noir on the 19th March and continued through until the 20th April, slightly ahead of normal due to the warmer season. This vintage gave us above average crop levels and berry sizes, which slowed the ripening from being earlier. Where possible, we tried to co-ferment different clonal lots from the same vineyard, while vineyards are kept separate. Around three quarters of our ferments were de-stemmed only; the remaining quarter contained 15-40% whole clusters. The must underwent 6 days of cold maceration, being partially hand plunged once daily. The ferments were heated after this and all fermented with indigenous yeasts. The ferments lasted for an average of 8 days during which time they were hand plunged once or twice daily with the temperature peaking at 30°C. The wine stayed on skins for a further 7-9 days post-dryness and were plunged only occasionally. When the wine tasted in harmony it was pressed off to barrel where it resided on full lees for 12 months. It underwent malolactic fermentation in the spring, was racked out of barrel in late autumn and filtered, but not fined, prior to bottling. This wine is vegan friendly.