Clos Henri - Pinot Noir - Marlborough 2016

Food pairing

Herbed crusted lamb cutlets or chargrilled venison.

Tasting Notes

A fine, pure and elegant nose, with plum, blackberry and spicy notes. This is a dense and concentrated Pinot Noir with subtle oak emerging on a layered savoury palate balancing the plum and boysenberry flavours evolving towards a meaty character. Silky structure with well-integrated tannins, leading to a long finish.

Technical data

Climate: Dry maritime with warm sunny days and cool nights.
Annual sunshine: 2443 hours
Average annual rainfall: 647 mm
Latitude: 41.3 south
Altitude: 85–150 metres above sea level.
Soil: Broadbridge & Wither clays
Planting density: High at 5050 vines/ha
Yield: 6t/ha
Clones: 5, 10/5, 667, 777, 114, 115 & Abel
Rootstock: RG, 101-14 & 3309
Vine age: 8–13 year old vines
Residual sugar: <1g/l
Total acidity: 4.9g/l
pH: 3.56
Ageing potential: 10-12 years from vintage

Vinification

After hand picking, bunches are sorted and 100% destemmed before being transferred under gravity into large French oak vats with no crushing (100% whole berries). After spending one week cold soaking the berries are fermented. We are looking for light extraction through gentle pump overs at the beginning of fermentation, alternating with plunging mid fermentation. Fermentation and post ferment maceration last for three weeks. The wine is then aged for 12 months in 100% French oak barrels, 25% of which is new oak.

Viticulture

Our entire vineyard is planted in the French tradition of high density and grown on our clay soils, this Pinot has naturally dense structure, dark fruit and savoury characters. We first started dry farming in 2010 and our soils have shown their exceptional potential by stressing the vines to just the right level in order to mature fine phenolic texture and enable the roots to explore deeper the soil, thereby getting the purest expression of our terroir.

New Zealand Marlborough