SATO PISA TERRACE PINOT NOIR 2018

100% Pinot Noir from the Pisa Terrace Vineyard, at the very foot of Mt Pisa where the soils are gravely, mineral abundant, well drained soils with quartz and schist.

Organically farmed, hand harvested, 5% whole bunch, wild fermented with no adjustments, alterations or additions of any sort, then basket-pressed into French oak barriques (0% new) for 19 months. Bottled unfiltered, unfined (vegan), with just 20 mg/L sulphites added at bottling.

Yoshiaki Sato and his wife Kyoko moved to Central Otago in 2006 and have been producing wines made with minimal intervention ever since. Yoshiaki and Kyoko have completed vintages together in Burgundy, the Loire and Alsace and to this day work under the mentorship of Pierre Frick. Until now Yoshiaki has been sourcing fruit from organic vineyards around Central Otago and in early 2016 purchased his own farm in the Pisa sub-region which he has planted with Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gamay Noir and Pinot Noir. Wines from Sato’s own vineyard are not expected until 2019.

95/100 James Suckling