BLUE/GOLD MEDAL: SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL WINE CHALLENGE TROPHY: CHAMPION PINOT NOIR SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL WINE CHALLENGE
Visually the 2008 Reserve is a bright Pinot Noir red colour with a good youthful hue. It has a strikingly floral nose, with ripe plum and cinnamon undertones. A beautiful Pinot impression is created that beguiles, and eschews the obvious. On the palate, the majesty of the wine unfolds. Sublimely silky and initially expansive, a tryst of minerality and tannin work and fuse in with the fruit. A great impression of dimension is created from something that at the same time conjures sensations of lightness and delicacy. Very fine and long.
The Reserve Pinot Noir represents the pinnacle of our winemaking at Gibbston Valley, and is only released in exceptional vintages.
Hand harvested, the fruit was fermented in small open top fermenters, with differing whole bunch percentages varying used to add complexity. Fermentation temperatures peaked at between 30 to 33ºC and the wines were pressed at an average of 5 days after reaching dryness, some 25 days maceration total.
The wines then spent 11 months in French oak (45% new), before blending. Each portion was kept separate throughout, which gives a true indication of the vineyards' characteristics and expression. The Gibbston fruit provided depth of flavour and perfume, whilst the Bendigo wines gave delicious fruit sweetness and intensity.
Don't Pay: $130
WBW Rating: 96/100
Closure: Stelvin
Region: Central Otago New Zealand
Winemaker: Christopher Keys & Sascha Herbert
Drink now until: 2018
Alc/Vol: 13.5 %
