Mt Difficulty

AWARDS

95pts, James Suckling Tasting Reprot 2024

This has deeply perfumed aromas of dark cherries, dried rose petals, cocoa beans and pencil as well as Asian spices and citrus peel. Seamlessly integrated tannins and bright acidity cut through a creamy, textural, medium-bodied palate, showing flavors of wild strawberries, ruby grapefruit, damson plums and cinnamon bark. Very poised and tightly wound with a high level of refinement. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

ABOUT

“Dark garnet with red & black cherry on the nose and a spice profile of szechuan pepper, cardamom & star anise. Inviting and opulent, the palate is flush with sweet cherry & blueberry, followed by trademark earth & savoury notes and framed by baking spice and fine grained French Oak. The fruit floods through to the finish with a juicy balance, indicating acidity that will keep the wine aging well.” Greg Lane, Winemaker 

CELLARING POTENTIAL

Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Pinot Noir is best after two years and will age gracefully for a further 12 years given optimal cellaring conditions.

VINTAGE 2023

The 2023 growing season in Central Otago was vastly different to the rest of the country. We came out of a mild, wet winter to a warm and unusually still spring which meant strong shoot growth and fruit set. Post flowering, the summer heat increased, and Cromwell experienced it’s hottest January on record. We started picking in the middle of March however, a blast of cold weather from the south during the first week of April put a welcome handbrake on ripening which meant the majority of our grapes developed more flavour and tannin ripeness. We finished harvesting in mid-May, making it a longer vintage with excellent quality.

VINEYARD

Grapes for Bannockburn Pinot Noir come exclusively from estate and winery managed vineyards situated on the south side of the Kawarau River. While subject to the seasonal and diurnal temperature extremes of Central Otago, each vineyard has a specific terroir and a variety of low fertility soil types: light sands, clays, loams and gravels. The majority of grapes come from earlier plantings which are predominantly clones 5, 6 and 10/5, while more recent plantings are a mix of Dijon clones 113, 115, 667 and 777. 

WINEMAKING CONSIDERATIONS

We started harvesting our Pinot Noir on the 26th March, a week later than the previous year, and continued through until the 20th April. Above average yields and berry size were indicative of the excellent flowering conditions. Where possible, we tried to co-ferment different clonal lots from the same vineyard, while vineyards are kept separate. Around 3/4 of ferments were de-stemmed only; the remaining containing 15-40% whole clusters. The must underwent 6 days of cold maceration, with the occasional hand plunge, followed by heating and fermentation with indigenous yeasts.

The ferments lasted for an average of 8 days during which time they were pumped over or hand plunged once or twice daily with the temperature peaking at 30°C. The wine stayed on skins for a further 7-9 days post-dryness, and were plunged only occasionally. When the wine tasted in harmony, it was pressed off to barrel where it resided on lees for 12 months. It underwent malolactic fermentation in the spring, was racked out of barrel in late autumn and filtered, but not fined, prior to bottling.