AUNTSFIELD SINGLE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 2020

Selected for the Fine Wines of New Zealand List

Winery notes (2020 Vintage)
"Our Single Vineyard wines are made from grapes grown at Auntsfield Estate. Each wine shows the distinctive characteristics of ripeness, texture and minerality – qualities unique to the ancient Greywacke rock and Loess clay soils of the vineyard. Pinot Noir holds a special place in our hearts. We grow the grapes and make this wine with particular care and attention. The resulting wines are distinctive for their lifted aromatics, silky mouth feel and the powerful expression of pure fruit, ripe tannin and balanced oak.

Rich Black cherry and plum fruit is subtly lifted by layers of dark red florals and complex savoury aromas of dark chocolate, cigar box and olive tapenade. The palate of this wine shows a rich silky texture, which is full and concentrated. Flavours of ripe berry fruit and dark plum fill the pallet. This fruit is supported by powerful yet fine polished tannins giving a plush yet silky texture with seamless length.

The 2020 season was amazing! If you could reproduce the weather conditions of this season every year you would. Regular winter rainfall and a cool spring encouraged canopy growth but kept cropping levels low. Summer was very dry but stayed relatively cool resulting in healthy vines with no disease or water stress. There was a slow progression into Autumn with a long ripening period where the fruit reached optimum ripeness in perfect harvest conditions."

5 Stars & 94/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, June 2021 (2020 Vintage)
"Offering stunning fruit purity with stylish complexity, the wine shows dark plum, violet, subtle spice and almond notes on the nose, leading to a gorgeously concentrated palate that’s silky and flowing. Wonderfully composed and poised for a graceful development. At its best: 2022 to 2030."

Reviews for the 2019 vintage below…

5 Stars Michael Cooper (2019 Vintage)
"Grown on north-facing slopes at Auntsfield, on the south side of the Wairau Valley, the 2019 vintage is highly impressive. Boldly coloured, it is a powerful, full-bodied red with dense, ripe plum, cherry and spice flavours, good tannin backbone, and obvious potential for long-term cellaring. Open 2023+."

5 Stars & 95/100 Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, June 2020 (2019 Vintage)
"Elegant, dense and appealing Pinot Noir with ripe plum, cherry, berry and spicy oak flavours. A smooth-textured wine with restrained opulence and a core of fruit sweetness that balances fine tannins. Approachable now but will age well."

5 Stars 18.5/20 (93/100) Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, June 2020 (2019 Vintage)
"Dark, purple with a ruby-red hue with some depth, youthful, even colour throughout. The nose is with spice and power, shining through with plush plums and black cherries entwined with herbs and nutty oak. The palate is full and bright with lively acidity, carries plummy and cherry aromas; unfolding herbs and subtle sweet spices, along with nutty oak notes. Medium-bodied with fullness, the mouthfeel is buoyant with the right amount of acidity, interweaved with silken fine-grained tannin extraction. The fruit is ripened and plush and has the density to uphold the firm tannin structure, and leaves a silky, dry, structured finish. This is a sumptuous, medium-bodied Pinot Noir with ripened fruit flavours of plums and cherries, along with herbs and spices upholding a silken fine-grained tannin structure and a nutty finish. Match with venison and duck over the next 5 years. Handpicked, destemmed, fermented to 13.5% alc in tanks. Aged in French oak barriques for 10 months."