Blank Canvas Pinot Noir 2016

Density and power within a silky Pinot Noir framework is how we like to describe this wine. Aromas of red and black cherry, forest berries and floral highlights mingle with savoury, spicy notes. It possesses an evocative perfume embedded within firm, fine-grained tannins and balanced, crunchy acidity. This is a wine that will get more intriguing and complex with cellaring, assisted by its whole bunch fermentation characters. It has years of evolution ahead of it.

We think Pinot Noir is one of Marlborough’s most eminent varieties. Matt’s time spent in Europe has given him the best of both worlds: he learnt from the regions with centuries of knowledge pertaining to this enigmatic, magical grape and has combined it with Marlborough’s innate ability to produce blockbuster, perfumed aromatics in an elegant but serious Pinot Noir framework. The handpicked bunches were cold-soaked for 4.5 days before spontaneous fermentation by natural yeasts. We hand-plunged the wine during its ferment which included 50% whole clusters. The wine was pressed to French oak barriques, all of low-toast (35% new), where it matured for 10 months. It was bottled on 10th March 2016.

The 2015 vintage in Marlborough was one of the earliest and driest in recent years, with rainfall being just 40% of the long-term average while growing degree days were 10% more. For Pinot Noir, this resulted in lower yields, smaller bunch weights and more concentrated, impressive fruit.