Auntsfield Single Vineyard Marlborough Pinot Noir 2020

Being the oldest name amongst Marlborough wines, Auntsfield vineyard started by David Herd, where he planted some vines in 1892.  Auntsfield has its Pinot Noir yields from Southern Valleys, where the vines grow on ancient Greywacke rock and dense Loess clay soils.

For the particular 2020 vintage, it had been an amazing season. Regular winter rainfall and a cool spring encouraged canopy growth but kept cropping levels low. Summer was very dry but stayed relatively cool resulting in healthy vines with no disease or water stress. There was a slow progression into Autumn with a long ripening period where the fruit reached optimum ripeness in perfect harvest conditions.

Harvest involves hand-picked, hand-sorted, and then 100% destemmed. Instead of being mechanically pumped into the fermentation tanks, the grapes were fed entirely by gravity. The grapes underwent about 12 days of skin contact. During fermentation, the winemakers used careful hand plunging rather than aggressive mechanical pumping over. After fermentation and maceration, the wine was gently pressed off its skins and aged for 10 months in French oak barriques.  About 20% of them being new oak

Unlike any other typical Marlborough Pinot Noir, that has fruity cherry and light liquorice, or bright strawberries, expect a wave of dark fruit, think Black Doris plums, wild blackberries. Followed by sophisticated, savory layers like dark chocolate, cigar box, and a distinct black olive tapenade note.

The Palate has a rich, concentrated, almost plush texture. The tannins are powerful but incredibly fine-grained and polished, preventing the wine from feeling heavy or clumsy.