Recent Reviews
Talk about a flirtatious wine. From the first sip it tastes big, juicy and massively muscular, but this new
Central Otago pinot noir rounds out to a full-bodied feminine red wine.
It is brilliantly well-balanced and too delicious to describe 
Joelle Thomson
New Zealand Herald
August 2005
Our Wines
Lindis River 2005 Pinot Noir
Viticulture
The 2005 season started well with good initial vine growth and development. We are slowly converting the vineyard to organic production. November 2004 also saw the first application of biodynamic preparations to enhance the health of the soil and make nutrients and minerals more easily available to the vines. After a promising start the region was hit by storms and rain at time of flowering. The result was a heavily reduced crop due to poor pollination of the flowers. Small bunches with weights of only 40-50% of the average bunch size produced very good flavours and concentration, just not the amount that we hoped for.
Winemaking
Following the same approach as in 2004 the wine was made in similar fashion, again keeping the fruit from different blocks separate. A little more whole bunches were used (25%). The new oak component was kept at 40%. Bottling took place again after 11 months following fining and light filtration. Realising that prolonged bottle ageing benefits our wines, the 2005 Pinot Noir will be released a little later, in February 2007.
Tasting notes
Early in its life the dark crimson 2005 Pinot Noir shows strong mixed forest berry aromas, with a hint of spice and leather. Its palate is broad with substantial structure and fine tannins. Again, hallmarks of our wine are balance and elegance.
Lindis River 2004 Pinot Noir
Viticulture
The 2004 season in Central Otago commenced in a frosty fashion. Two frosts in November as low as -4.5 º Celsius saw many young shoots burning off, some established vines completely died. Central Otago hadn’t seen spring frosts like those for nearly 20 years. What was meant to be our first meaningful harvest turned into a very disappointing start. Early autumn frosts again challenged the grape grower. However, the vines handled the chilly days remarkably well and produced good quality fruit, albeit in very reduced quantities
Winemaking
Our wine is made in small batches allowing to track the different blocks and clones through to barrel. 15% of the crop was used as whole bunches during fermentation, the rest destemmed and lightly crushed. Fermentation takes place in open top stainless steel vats. Initially, there is a period of cold soaking which can last up to 7 days. In order to let the wine express its heritage and the vintage conditions, intervention in the winemaking process is kept to a minimum. Hence, we prefer natural yeasts to commence fermentation which easily took place in 2004. During peak fermentation the wine is plunged (punched down) by hand three times per day in order to keep the grape skins in contact with the wine. Once the wine has finished its fermentation it is still kept in the vat for some more extraction and complexity. Daily tastings determine when it will be pressed and filled into barrel.
It was then aged for 11 months in French oak barrels of which 40% were new for the 2004 Pinot Noir. As a new wine producer we are still experimenting with different new oak components and forest provenences. Bottling took place in April 2005 after a gentle fining with egg whites and a light filtration. The wine was released in December 2005. We also produced some 1.5 litre magnum bottles to mark our first commercial release.
Tasting notes
The 2004 Pinot Noir shows black currant, bramble and spice aromatics. It has a silky soft texture with fine grained tannins and a lingering balanced finish. It impresses with its purity of fruit and elegant poise.
