Viticulture

Marlborough experienced a mild winter and an unseasonably warm spring during the 2006 vintage. In the unique terroir of the ‘Golden Mile’ in Rapaura where the Staete Landt Vineyard is situated we gained an early budburst and good healthy growth through to the beginning of flowering. Then a wet, variable period ensued resulting in reduced fruit-set and providing us with the desired very modest crop level. The following weeks through to veraison were more settled and a modest amount of fruit, as well as the ‘shoulders’ of the grape bunches, were removed by hand giving us between 1.5 and 2 tonnes/acre (32 hl/ha) of optimal fruit.
The summer months were mild with ideal warm and dry conditions resulting in a substantial increase in average daily temperatures. This combination of land, site, weather and viticultural work of that year gave us balanced, opulent, rich and ripe fruit with great tannin structure and vivid colour composition.
The Pinot Noir was handpicked from twelve separate parcels comprising of four different clones, clone 114, clone 115, clone 777 and clone 5 and planted on various rootstocks like Riparia Gloire, 101-14 and Schwarzmann. Each clone and rootstock combination is planted on quite different soils on either side of the vineyard, giving each parcel its own unique flavour and tannin expression.

Harvest Dates: 21 March – 27 March 2007
Brix: 24.8 – 26.8

Winemaking

Only hand picked grapes were used for this wine. The grapes were de-stemmed only to tank where they underwent a cold maceration phase of six to ten days prior to primary alcoholic fermentation and a post ferment maceration phase of up to 35 days. The total time on skins varied with the fruit parcel however the maximum was 45 days. Once post ferment maceration was completed the wine was pressed off and settled briefly before being racked straight to barrels to undergo malo-lactic fermentation in a mixture of 25% new French oak and 75% older French oak barrels.
The wines were then aged on lees until they were eventually racked in early 2007 when they were blended and returned to barrel.
The wine was aged in barrel for a total of 18 months.

Wine Analysis

Alcohol: 14%; Acidity: 6.6 g/l; pH: 3.41; Sugar: <2.0 g/l

Tasting Note

The 2006 Staete Landt Pinot Noir beautifully expresses the terroir of the clay-layered soils in the Staete Landt vineyard. The wine is elegant and multi-layered, complex with powerful spicy fruit driven tannins. The attractive aromas show strawberries and ripe black cherries with violets and a lovely earthy complexity. On the palate this is a full-bodied Pinot Noir with an elegant tannin structure and a lingering finish of spices like cloves, bay leaves and gamy flavours. This wine will repay cellaring for three to five years.