Pinot Noir

The Pinot Noir is a blend of 50% Abel clone and the balance clone 5 and 115.  A third of it is put into the fermenter and then footstomped to break the cell walls and release juice with a little SO2 cover to avoid oxidation.  This ensures there is good tannin extraction from the stems but no carbonic character from inter-cellular fermetation.  The ferment took a week and the entire time of skins was 30 days.  It was pressed to 1.8bar, mixed and put to seven barrels.  One a was a new MTG M+ Francois Freres and the rest were one two and three year old D&j, FF and Damy barrels.  It aged for ten months before a light filtration and bottling just prior to the 2015 harvest.

Black Peak Central Otago Pinot Noir 2014

Decanter Magazine. December Issue 2015

Powerful aromatics, plum, black currant, black cherry, undergrowth, mineral, spicy oak. Dry, firm, youthful, uber-ripe tannins, dark berry fruit flavours, plenty of acidity, lengthy finish. Drink 2017-2020  17.75 (92pts)

Sam Kim, Wine Orbit.  July 2015

This is impressively ripe and complex on the nose displaying dark cherry, blueberry, game, truffle and roasted almond characters. The palate shows excellent fruit purity combined with elegant savoury complexity. It is beautifully ripe, silky and harmonious, backed by plenty of supple tannins, finishing long and delectable. At its best: now to 2020  94/100 5 Star

Raymond Chan Wine Reviews.  June 2015

Very dark, black-hued purple-red colour, near impenetrable and youthful in appearance. The nose is refined and very tightly bound, initially slender and penetrating in presentation with aromas of black cherries, liquorice, dark herbs and spices, along with savoury stalky nuances and lifted black florals. The fruit is beautifully fresh and exudes vitality and energy, revealing plenty of delicate detail with aeration. Medium-full bodied, the palate is tightly bound and elegantly proportioned, with bright, lively primary fruit flavours of black cherries, along with subtle thyme herb, savoury stalk and minerally flavours. Fresh, lacy acidity enhances the fruit lusciousness, and very fine-grained, supple tannins support the fruit, providing excellent linearity. This has a fine and concentrated core that carries to a very long, lingering finish with black fruit flavours. This is a beautifully elegant, tightly concentrated, black fruited Pinot Noir with subtle herb and mineral complexities and supple, refined structure. It will develop richness and greater interest over the next 6-8 years. Serve with lamb, beef, venison and semi-hard cheeses. A mix of Abel, 115 and clone 5 fruit from a single vineyard on the Queensberry Hills, fermented with foot-stomping in the fermenter to 13.7% alc., the wine aged 11 months in 14% new French oak. 18.5/20