WINEMAKER Stu Marfell
COMPOSITION 100% Pinot Noir
CLONES 115 majority with small percentage of other dijon clones included
COOPERAGE French Oak, 21% new
VINE AGE 25 years
ALCOHOL 13%
T A 5.30 g/L
R S 0.20 g/L
p H 3.75
CELLARING 1-10 years
94pts, James Suckling Tasting Report 2023
91pts, Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review 2023
NZ International Wine Show Gold Medal 2023
For all its raw beauty, the Awatere Valley is home to unforgiving soils, cool winds and some of the driest conditions in the country. But we have been here from the start. We know intimately how these very elements conspire to produce remarkable wines, like our Papa Pinot Noir. Named for the compacted blue-grey mudstone that holds tight to the roots of our mature vines, Papa Pinot Noir is made in small parcels on the sloping upper terraces of the Awatere Valley.
Tempting aromas of dark cherries and plum are gracefully knitted together with complex savoury elements from considered oak maturation and whole bunch fermentation. A pure & poised palate delivers layers of moreish red fruits and gentle tannins. A savoury complexity and silky smooth finish speaks clearly of this most singular place.
By many accounts the 2022 Vintage was a roller-coaster ride. Pleasant spells of warm and dry weather coupled with unseasonable rain kept both our viticulturist and winemaker on their toes. A great spell of weather in the middle of summer drove the ripening forward and with clever canopy management and strategic picking decisions, our grapes were harvested in a clean manner. We harvested our grapes for Papa in two stages due to different ripening times within the vineyard block. This character leads to array of flavours, reflected in the wine.
Fruit was hand harvested at peak ripeness and received immediately at the winery where most of the fruit was gently removed from the stems and put to stainless steel tanks. Some select parcels were left as full clusters and put directly to tank for a cold soaking period allowing gentle extraction. The tanks were then warmed for a fermentation with the assistance of pied de cuve starter cultures propagated in the vineyard, allowing full expression of the vineyard and the wine’s provenance.
The ferments were gently hand plunged and pumped over each day. Following fermentation, the wines were pressed off skins and racked into French oak barrels for 11 months of delicate maturation. The wines passed malolactic during the spring and were blended in late summer and were blended in late summer and prepared for bottling in early spring of 2023
