The colour is quite deep with cherry hues.  The aroma is of ripe black fruits, with some toasty overtones.  The palate has excellent structure, the wine is full flavoured reflecting the warm year, yet it retains its vibrant fruit.

95 Points - James Halliday Wine Companion 2010
“It’s top notch!” 96 Points - Campbell Mattinson, Winefront Monthly - Friday, May 23 2008

Vintage and Winemaking

During the season of the 2006 vintage we experienced a warm dry summer which advanced berry development and the ripening process. The fruit remained vibrant and healthy through the season and was harvested in beautiful condition.  Harvest was slightly early due to the warmth of the season, vine health assisted in acid retention, and flavour development was parallel with sugar ripeness.Picking was from the 20th February to the 8th of March for the  Reserve Pinot Noir, with yields averaging 5 tonnes per hectare.  The warmer season also brought smaller crops, smaller berries and loose bunches. The difficulty in this vintage was avoiding jammy flavours in Pinot Noir.  Maintaining a good canopy through the heat is important to avoid sunburn on the fruit and overripe flavours from shrivelled berries.  In the winery the fruit was handled very gently during the fermentation to avoid overextraction.

Our Pinot Noir is all hand picked before destemming into open pot fermenters.  We did no cold soak during 2006, as the must had wonderful colour and flavour from the beginning. During ferment the fruit was hand plunged once per day, with occasional  pumping over.  At dryness the wines were pressed and settled before transfer into barrel for malolactic fermentation.  All French oak is used (about 25% new) from a variety of coopers.