Two Paddocks Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand, 2019

The flagship from Two Paddocks – an organically grown barrel selection from the estate properties.  In 2019 this wine was produced from the four Neill family Central Otago vineyards. These small sites are high-density planted in a range of clonal material cropped to under 5 Tonne per hectare with most vineyard practices carried out by hand.  As in the vineyard, the wine is hand crafted using traditional methods including a 46% whole bunch, indigenous fermentation and hand plunging.  Maturation is in French barriques for 10 months, using a mix of older and new (18%) barrels. Vegan friendly.

2019 Vintage Comment:
Above average rainfall over the Winter and early Spring meant soil water remained at luxury levels for vines over the entire growing season. The Summer heat did accumulate though and shoots grew with ease without any destructive winds. Accurate leaf removal and crop thinning meant the vines had a balanced crop load and the fruit was very clean. A noticeable benefit was the lack of wind damaged shoots and leaves which really increases the vines ability to produce energy late into the season. Harvest began on the 3^rd April at The Fuslier, Bannockburn and finished on the 26^th April at The First Paddock, Gibbston.

Winemakers Notes:
Hand harvested, 54% de-stemmed and given a 7 day pre-fermentation cold maceration to extract colour and aroma.  After an indigenous fermentation, with a single plunging per day, the wine was given another 5 days post fermentation time on skins.  Wine is then transferred to 1-4 (18% new oak) year old French medium toast barriques for a 10-month maturation, before racking and bottling.

Estate Vineyard composition: 37% The Fusilier – Bannockburn, 7% – The Last Chance – Earnscleugh (Alexandra), 40% The Red Bank – Earnscleugh (Alexandra) and 22% The First Paddock – Gibbston.