Cellaring:
This Pinot Noir can be drunk now, but it will continue to develop in the bottle for 4–8 years.
The Vines:
A 5.0 ha block of Riverby Estate is planted with Pinot Noir. A number of clones have been planted; these include 10/5, UCD5, & 115 with some recent plantings of 114, 667 and 777. The rows are aligned North-South and the vines are trained to the Vertical Shoot Positioned (VSP) trellis system. All vines were individually assessed for vigour at pruning and pruned according to their capacity, this maximises the quality of the fruit. The cropping levels are maintained to below 3.0 tonnes/acre, which preserves intense fruit flavours in the wine.
Harvest:
Date: 27th March, 3rd and 5th April 2001
Average Brix: 22.6
Average pH: 3.05
Average Total Acid: 8.6g/l
Vinification:
The grapes were hand harvested, with different parcels of fruit being picked at different stages of ripeness. Open fermenters were used for all ferments. Some of the fruit underwent natural ferments while a selection of yeasts was used for the other ferments. Fermentation temperatures peaked at above 30°C. After fermentation the wine was placed in oak barriques for 18 months. The barriques used were a selection of French oak. Prior to bottling individual barriques were selected for the final blend. The predominant Pinot Noir clone in the finished wine is 115 with some minor components of 10/5 and UCD5. The underlying approach to making this wine was to provide diverse viticultural and winemaking practices to enhance the complexity of the resulting wine.
