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Buy OnlineChasing Harvest was created by husband and wife, Michael Kush and Jennifer Kingen Kush from Chicago.
What an interesting story this wine tells, with connections all around the world. Hailing from Chicago, Mike's passion for wine and winemaking had to take him to other places and he and his wife Jennifer have been travelling the world making wines in many far flung locations. They have settled on creating their own label in the Douro Valley, Portugal and Central Otago, New Zealand. It may be that this international approach has enabled them to produce styles of wine that are different to the usual local versions. This Pinot Noir has great colour depth and the aromas just burst out of the glass. However it is on the palate that the wine really comes into its own, showing savoury, slatey,dark fruited flavours, yet with a silken palate.
Winery notes (2017 Vintage)
"‘Chasing harvest’ is a wine industry term that describes travel between the northern and southern hemispheres for extra vintage seasons in one year.
With just our passports and backpacks, a passion for adventure, travel, and wine inspired us to ‘chase harvest’ across five continents, eight countries, and 28 vintages. We use our experiences of the world’s greatest wine regions to handcraft our limited wines.
Our journey has taken us all over the world from the vineyards of Burgundy and Cahors, France; to the slopes of the Mosel; the Western Cape of South Africa; Sonoma, California; Italy and Argentina; historic Douro Valley, Portugal and its antipodes Central Otago, New Zealand. We are grateful to all of the talented winemakers we have worked with along the way.
The 2017 Pinot Noir is again a careful blend of two vineyards, one along the famed Felton Road in Bannockburn and the second from the most southerly sub-region of Alexandra.
Handpicked ripe clusters were sorted back at the winery and fermented in traditional open-top fermenters. A small percentage of whole cluster grapes were added to the ferment. Moderately long macerations of roughly 20 and 25 days were employed but extracted gently with a gentle wetting of the cap just once per day. The wine was gently pressed and racked to French burgundy barrels. After a year in barrel and after very careful consideration we made the decision to blend the two wines together. Again, in the search of a unique and balanced expression of Central Otago Pinot, we found the blending of the two vineyards complemented each other perfectly.
The Bannockburn based wine provided the dark cherry and savoury character with power, and depth, while the wine from Alexandra provided elegance, floralness, and finesse."
93/100 Cameron Douglas MS, March 2020 (2017 Vintage)
"Vibrant, ripe, fresh, varietal and alluring bouquet of Pinot Noir. Fleshy fresh dark red cherry, raspberry, crushed stones, roses and sweet spicy barrel aromas. On the palate – youthful, firm chalky tannins, medium+ acidity and flavours that reflect the nose with crushed red berry fruits layered between wood spices and medium+ acidity. Balanced and well made, drinking well now and through 2023."
