2012 Carrick Estate Pinot Noir Bannockburn Central Otago (Biodynamic)

Professional Reviews

Notes

Winemaker Francis Hutt definitely seems to be drawing the best out of these mature vines at Carrick. After purchasing this Pinot Noir I got an email from Francis thanking me for the support. In the email he gave me the lowdown on how this beautiful Pinot came into existence. Apparently a series of events came to pass that were rather unique. Firstly a sequence of "Super Moons" leading up to harvest; being Biodynamically inclined this is considered to have significant effect on the growing season. Ripe flavors were present in the fruit at very low sugar levels so Francis decided to trust his gut and pick early. Next one of the harvest interns that year apparently found the manual punch down schedule a little challenging so Francis let her go with the flow the wines were "delicately extracted" and rather found their own way! Finally Francis decided not to separate the press fraction from the rest of the wine, he wanted to see the expression of the estate in its entirety, so he employed only a very light press regime. The wine saw no fining or filtration. He finished the email by saying: "2012 will always be one of my most favourite wines, it reminds me that sometimes you just have to back yourself, trust your experience and push the boat out in the direction you think is going to find new uncharted territory and that bringing everyone along on the journey is so important." I hope you'll check out this wine, it's a great drink. (Ryan Woodhouse - K&L NZ Wine Buyer)