CLOUDY BAY PINOT NOIR

by CLOUDY BAY

WINES

Vineyard: Grapes for this wine were sourced from carefully selected sites located within the southern Wairau Valley including our Mustang and Barracks vineyards. The soils have a clay base with aged alluvial gravels that provide good drainage. This soil structure allows a relatively consistent availability of water to the vines through the summer months, minimizing water stress to the pinot noir vines. Our vines are all pruned and trained to a two-cane, vertically shoot positioned canopy with an average yield of 5 tones/hectare.

Vinification / Ageing: All fruit was de-stemmed into our small open top stainless steel tanks and, after a pre-fermentation cold soak of several days, the fermentations commenced with naturally occurring yeast and at a maximum temperature of 32°C. We plunge caps during fermentation to ensure gentle and complete extraction of tannins, colour and flavours. Following three weeks on skins, each batch was transferred into French oak barrels, approximately 40% new, for 12 months of maturation. Individual components are tasted and scrutinized to determine our final blend.