Auntsfield Estate Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022

The original cellars & vineyards of David Hern, Marlborough's & Auntsfield's founding winemaker, are the same estate that the modern Auntsfield is on today. The current varietals planted have a shared ancestry with the original vineyards, and the Cowley family makes it a priority to act as guardians of this history.

The Southern Valleys is a sub region within Marlborough where the climate is cooler and drier. With its mix of high mineral Greywacke rock and old low fertility Loess clay soils, the Southern Valleys is regarded for its riper styles of wine with more structure, texture and minerality.

The Auntsfield vineyard covers 65 hectares and is planted in Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. Unlike many Marlborough vineyards, Pinot Noir is Auntsfield’s most planted variety, and is particularly suited to the old clay hillsides of Auntsfield.

Grape Varietals & Region: 100% Pinot Noir from Southern Valleys, Marlborough, New Zealand

Taste Profile: Fragrant black cherry and rich plum fruit is subtly lifted by layers of dark red florals and complex savoury forest floor, dark chocolate, cigar box. The palate of this wine shows the concentration and elegance of the vintage. Pure flavours of berry fruit and dark plum fill the pallet. This fruit is supported by finely polished tannins giving a plush yet silky texture with seamless length.

Winemaking Process: This wine was made with a minimalist philosophy, designed to reveal the characteristics of the grapes and the vineyard. The fruit was hand-harvested, hand-sorted, gently destemmed and gravity-fed to tank. Fermented with indigenous yeast from Auntsfield vineyard. Careful hand plunging was utilised to gently extract flavours and tannins from the skins. Maturation occurred in French oak barriques for approximately 10 months.