Mount Dottrel Central Otago Pinot Noir 2006
Tasting description
Tangy, lively and generous wine showing vibrant dark fruit and cherry characters which are well supported by complex, ripe aromas of plums, with sweet spicy fruit, smoky oak, earthy notes and flavours that burst across the palate. Silky tannins support a firm, textured structure, which is not excessively weighty, but finely balanced due to the glacial schist soils and the warm 2006 vintage.
This wine will drink well while young, but will open up with careful cellaring.
Winemaking
Under the care of award-winning winemaker Carol Bunn, this wine was crafted from a warm vintage with an exceptional crop harvested at 25ยบ Brix and fermented in small open-top stainless steel fermenters for approximately 21 days. The wine was barrel matured for ten months in 228 litre French barriques (approx 30% new and 70% one to three-year-old oak barriques).
Analysis at bottling: Alcohol 14.0% TA = 5.6 g/L pH = 3.56
We choose to enclose our wine under screw cap to ensure freshness, avoid cork taint and to enhance the ageing ability of our wine.
Viticulture notes
Our vineyard soil is mainly glacial schist – low-fertility, alluvial soils typical of the Cromwell Basin. We experience a cool climate of continental extremes – hot, dry summers with cool, dry autumns that promote intense flavour development of our fruit.
The 2006 vintage was exceptional. Excellent weather during flowering gave good fruit set and thinning was required. Dry, hot weather conditions in prevailed in January and February, causing good bunch weights. Vintage was earlier than usual due to the excellent growing year, with near perfect weather conditions allowing fruit to be harvested in optimum condition.
Food match
Mount Dottrel Pinot Noir is well suited to game dishes, venison, duck, lamb and dishes featuring mushrooms.
