Iona Pinot Noir 2021

Perfumed with a floral nose of rose petals, black and red cherries, strawberries and underlying spice notes. The palate is textured, succulent and complex, with a long savoury finish. Vibrant acidity and fine grained chalky tannins make this a powerful and exceptional age worthy wine. This is classic, focussed Pinot Noir.

Grapes were selected from 3 different blocks on the farm. Soils are variable and include Sandstone and Silica Quartz with clay underlying. French Dijon clones include 667, 115, and 777 and were planted in 2003, 2009. The combination of these four clones grown on varying soil structures provides flavour with broad spectrum, complexity and tannin texture. Height above sea level ranges from 400 -420 meters.

Grapes were hand harvested and spend overnight in a cold room. Extensive bunch sorting by hand prior to destemming occured. Bunches are destemmed without crushing, with 10% whole bunch for complexity. Fermentation occurs naturally in open top fermenters. During the fermentation, the skin cap was punched through gently by hand 2 times per day and fermentation temperature peak at 32°C. The wines were transferred to 500L and 300L French oak barrels where malolactic fermentation took place. (20% new wood, the rest 2nd, 3rd and 4th fill.) Maturation in oak was for 11 months, on the lees for the full period. After aging for 11 months in barrel, the wines are racked and blended in stainless steel tank. The wines were clarified naturally for a period of 3 months before bottling.