Ruby red. Earth, cherries, tamarillo, spice, licorice, ash and red roses on the nose. On the palate the wine is dense with boysenberries, rich forest fruits, red cherries and roses and damson plum. It’s supple and billowing with a vibrant

sandstone line. Salivating. Drink until 2026.

Vineyard

Planted in 1986 at a vine density of 5000 vines per hectare . The soils are classified as Waipara Greensand which is a green grey richly glauconitic sandstone. Pinot Noir cuttings were planted on their own roots and established and farmed without irrigation. Organic and biodynamic farming practices have been used since 2012. The Netherwood vineyard is in conversion to organic certification with BioGro.

Season

After a mild winter bud burst was underway early in the season. Good spring rain and warmth allowed canopy growth to develop rapidly. Flowering occurred a week early and completed evenly with good fruit set. In February a tornado attempted to remove the vineyard nets but they were diligently reapplied by our vineyard team. Intermittent rain in March freshened canopies but made us aware of the threat of heightened disease pressure. Harvest commenced at the end of March and with rainfall forecast our picking crews worked tirelessly to get fruit off the vines and into the winery. The early and mid-season warmth is captured in the wines from the harvest with delicate and ripe fruit complemented by fresh and lingering minerality and lower than previously possible alcohol.

Harvest

Hand harvested March 26 and April 1, 2014. Harvest 4.1 Ton Yield = 850g/ vine Brix 22.6 TA 7.2g/ L pH 3.35 MA 1.6g/L

Fermentation and maturation

100% whole cluster. Yeast for fermentation was propagated from a vineyard starter. Fermentation lasted 10 to 12 days with hand or foot plunging one to 2 times per day. Pressed after 28 days and drained to tight grained French, 3 to 10 year old barrels. Malo-lactic fermentation was completed in spring. 12 months barrel maturation, then racked to stainless steel tank where the wine settled for 5 months. Bottled without fining or filtration. Contains sulphites.

Bottled

289 (12 x 750ml) cases bottled in one lot under screw cap on November 24 2015.

R. S. 0.28 g/L TA 6.2 g/L pH 3.44 Dry extract 28g/L Alcohol 12.0%