Decibel "Pacific Passenger" Pinot Noir,2020
Decibel "Pacific Passenger" Pinot Noir,2020
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HK$320.00
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HK$320.00
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Our latest addition to the Pinot Noir family, and our biggest style yet. Powerful with plenty of dark fruit, ripe tannins, and that lovely savoury note you can achieve from great Martinborough fruit. It's new, but it's already a gold medal winner...
Winemakers Notes
Well, this is why I moved to NZ, to make wine like this and actually this wine. I was fascinated with Martinborough Pinot Noir back in the early/mid 2000s and it’s what drew me to the North Island of NZ. I can’t get enough of those complex savoury notes paired with the dark fruits we get from the Martinborough fruit. And hey, what a price!
Vineyard
Martinborough sits in a perfect Pinot Noir pocket on the lower north island. To the west of Martinborough is the Rimutaka Mountain ranges, protecting the region from the westerly rains. To the southeast lies the Aorangi Range and due east are the foothills leading up the coast of the North Island. There is, however, some exposure to the cold southerlies coming up through Palliser Bay in the spring that limit flowering and result in low- yielding vines producing fruit of high intensity. This wine was produced from an organically run, dry-farmed block with a unique clay soil structure over top of free-draining former river bed. Slightly more elevated than the typical river terrace soils than most of Martinborough, this vineyard has heat exposure with a northeast aspect.
The vines are planted in mostly Dijon clones of 667, 777, 114, 115, as well as Clone 5 half of which are planted on their own rootstock. The vineyard has always been run organically but will achieve full certification in 2021. After a relatively warm and dry summer, there was a heat spike right towards vintage. This resulted in a race to handpick all the fruit across the vineyard in time before it became too ripe. We did achieve this and were able to capture a range of ripeness and flavours across the vineyard. While the vintage will go down in history as a hot one, with dark tannins and big, fleshy wines. We were pleased with the finesse and tension we were able to capture at harvest.
The vines are planted in mostly Dijon clones of 667, 777, 114, 115, as well as Clone 5 half of which are planted on their own rootstock. The vineyard has always been run organically but will achieve full certification in 2021. After a relatively warm and dry summer, there was a heat spike right towards vintage. This resulted in a race to handpick all the fruit across the vineyard in time before it became too ripe. We did achieve this and were able to capture a range of ripeness and flavours across the vineyard. While the vintage will go down in history as a hot one, with dark tannins and big, fleshy wines. We were pleased with the finesse and tension we were able to capture at harvest.
Reviews
New Zealand International Wine Show 2021 Awards
Gold Medal Winner
Bob Campbell MW: 91 Points
Tasted 18 Decmber 2022.
Concentrated pinot noir with cherry/berry, plum, dried herb and floral flavours, with reductive struck flint characters supported by a firm structure of ripe tannins. The wine has certainly mellowed since it was first tasted. Complex red with cellaring potential. Drink 2023–2029.
Tasted 7 October 2021.
Rich, intense, firmly-structured pinot noir with Black Doris plum, dark berry, floral, violet, brambles, dried herb, struck-flint and gunpowder flavours. The wine benefits from aeration (slosh it in a decanter or jug for an hour and note the difference). A little closed and hard at this stage but should mellow with bottle age.
Gold Medal Winner
Bob Campbell MW: 91 Points
Tasted 18 Decmber 2022.
Concentrated pinot noir with cherry/berry, plum, dried herb and floral flavours, with reductive struck flint characters supported by a firm structure of ripe tannins. The wine has certainly mellowed since it was first tasted. Complex red with cellaring potential. Drink 2023–2029.
Tasted 7 October 2021.
Rich, intense, firmly-structured pinot noir with Black Doris plum, dark berry, floral, violet, brambles, dried herb, struck-flint and gunpowder flavours. The wine benefits from aeration (slosh it in a decanter or jug for an hour and note the difference). A little closed and hard at this stage but should mellow with bottle age.
