2009 Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir

Winemaker's Notes
"Intensely fragrant with alluring aromas of dark plums and lifted hints of blueberry, layered over spicy sandalwood and smoky bacon. The palate is succulent and flavoursome with dark fruits and toasty oak gently supported by plush tannins and a fine velvety finish."

Technical Notes
"All fruit was de-stemmed into open top stainless steel tanks and after a pre-fermentation cold soaking period of several days the fermentations started with naturally occurring yeast. The caps were plunged during fermentation to aid colour and flavour extraction. Following an average period of three weeks on skins, the batches were drained and lightly pressed before being transferred into French oak barrels, approximately half of which were new. Malolactic fermentation was complete by early summer. After nearly a year ageing in oak, the individual components were blended in late March, and the wine was then lightly fined with egg whites for clarity. The final blend consists 25% Clone 5 (Pommard), 20% Clone 10/5, 20% Clone 667, remainder mix of Dijon clones. Final analysis shows the wine to have 14%v/v alcohol, pH of 3.45 and acidity of 6.2g/l. "