Toi Toi Central Otago Reserve Pinot Noir 2018 (6 x 750mL) NZ

Viticulture and Winemaking

The 2018 vintage will be remembered as one that broke all kinds of records. Firstly it was one of the earliest bud bursts in our experience with vines pushing in late September. Early season growth was nothing short of stratospheric with the plants almost visibly growing up into the trellis at a rate we’d never seen before. By mid summer we were looking down the barrel of both the hottest, driest & earliest grape growing season on record. Harvest began with hiss & a roar in early-March, nearly a month before some seasons, in fact our Central Otago fruit was some of the first in the winery beating Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc by weeks. The wine was hand picked, wild fermented with 30% whole bunches. We then cold soaked the bunches 5-7 days prior to wild fermentation starting, hand plunged with a maximum fermentation temperature of 32c. Drained and gently pressed off skins, the juice was left to settled for 24hrs then racked off heavy solids to barrels and aged for 12 months in range of new and old French oak.