75% -Taylor River,115 & Abel clones. 25% -Omaka North, 667 & 115 clones.
The Taylor River vineyard is situated alongside the Taylor River shingle fan. The soil consists of loams, silts, clays and river gravels. The combination of clay and free-draining soils and gravels makes this vineyard ideally suited for premium Pinot Noir production. The Omaka North Vineyard lies just North of the Taylor River vineyard. The soils are similar but Omaka North has less clay and more silt/loam. The resulting wines are a more delicate and floral in nature. The fruit for this wine was harvested from four blocks. One of which was planted in clone 115, which was handpicked and fermented with 20% whole clusters. The 2nd block was machine harvested from Abel vines, and destemmed in the field. The Omaka North clones were destemmed and co-fermented in open tops. All batches were cold-soaked for 5 days and then fermented in 8 T open tops (hand plunged 2-3 times per day). The wine was left on skins for a further 5-7 days post-fermentation to build structure and harmonize the tannins. The wine was gently pressed to French oak barrels for 9 months to undergo malolactic fermentation and maturation. 33% new oak.
