Clos19
Kent Street Cellars
The 2019 Te Wāhi Pinot Noir is dark and concentrated, with notes of boysenberry, florals and subtle spice on the nose.
The palate is dense, with rich plum and hedgerow berry fruit balanced by a juicy freshness that interplays with the fine tannins to create a balanced and elegant impression. The finish is long, with moreish notes of dark chocolate and blackcurrant.
Fruit from our two complementary Central Otago vineyards is mostly de-stemmed into open-top fermentation tanks, with some whole bunch fermentation. In spring, the wine goes through extended maceration and spontaneous malolactic fermentation. The wine then spends a year or more ageing in French oak barrels before bottling.
Te Wāhi comes from two contrasting vineyards. Northburn sits on Lake Dunstan’s steep east bank, where unforgiving, rocky, glacial soils produce fruit with structure and intensity. Calvert, on Felton Road in Bannockburn, sits in the silty, loamy soils of an ancient lake bed and produces opulent, fragrant fruit.
“In the winery, we simply look for ways to frame the fruit, but not mask it. We know that our Calvert and Northburn vineyards produce very different styles, and blending is a huge part of what we do; we want to bring out the best in both. Calvert produces beautiful, sleek Pinot Noir, whereas Northburn is beautifully structured and architectural.”
Jim White, 2019