THE JOURNEY PINOT NOIR 2016

TASTING NOTE

Richly perfumed notes of red cherry, clove and anise are framed in toasty oak and smoky, woody herbs derived from stems in the whole cluster component. Layers of complexity abound from these generous aromatics to reveal a Pinot Noir of great power and persistence. Deeply concentrated red berries establish the palate, with a brooding density of warm oak, fine tannin and crunchy acidity combining to create a long and intricate finish.

FOOD MATCHING

Enjoy The Journey Pinot Noir 2016 with Beef Wellington served with roasted winter vegetables.

CELLARING POTENTIAL

6 - 8 years

ORIGIN

Southern Valleys, Marlborough.

Entirely sourced from our Southern Valleys Vineyards, this is a mix of clones from our premier Pinot Noir blocks of the 2016 vintage.

VARIETY

100% Pinot Noir.

WINEMAKING

Carefully hand-picked fruit was destemmed, without crushing, into small open-top fermentation tanks. 20% of the fruit was hand- loaded into the fermenter as whole clusters. The use of whole clusters, with the associated retention of the bunch stem at fermentation, is a very old technique used to add a lifted, spicy perfume while enhancing the tannic structure of the resulting wine. The grapes were cold-soaked for around 5 to 7 days, before the onset of a rapid, warm fermentation.

The ferments were hand-plunged up to 4 times each day to keep the skins in intimate contact with the fermenting juice, then left to macerate for an additional 5 days post fermentation ensuring optimum flavour development and tannin integration. The young wines were drained and pressed before being aged in new and older French oak puncheons for 11 months, with malolactic fermentation occurring as the weather warmed.

ANALYSIS

• Alcohol - 14.0%
• pH - 3.56
• Titratable Acidity - 5.03g/L
• Residual Sugar - 0.15g/L

VINTAGE

With the strongest El Nino pattern since the late 1990s being the dominant weather prediction for vintage 2016, the relative cool start to spring and the subsequent growing season was somewhat surprising.

By mid-October however, things began to look more typical as temperatures increased and the relative dryness so typical of El Nino began to manifest. The weather during flowering was warm and settled leading to one of the most rapid and complete fruit sets seen in recent years.

The early part of 2016 bought much needed rain to Marlborough, refreshing canopies and replenishing dams. Before this rain the district had been surviving on just over half its usual rainfall.

The key ripening months of February and March were warm with above average sunshine hours setting the trend for a warm and largely dry harvest.

GOLD

• The Asian Pinot Noir Masters 2020