Amisfield Breakneck Reserve Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022

Amisfield Breakneck Reserve Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022"A slightly lighter hued appearance, plenty of polish with a core of ruby and purple hues. Complex and detailed bouquet filled with scents of flowers and mineralised soils, ripe red berry fruits with a dark strawberry and red cherry drive, a lees and natural fruit spice quality adds lift and breadth. The use of oak adds tension and poise. A dry wine touches the palate with an immediate rush of texture and mouthfeel, as this settles flavours of red

"A slightly lighter hued appearance, plenty of polish with a core of ruby and purple hues. Complex and detailed bouquet filled with scents of flowers and mineralised soils, ripe red berry fruits with a dark strawberry and red cherry drive, a lees and natural fruit spice quality adds lift and breadth. The use of oak adds tension and poise. A dry wine touches the palate with an immediate rush of texture and mouthfeel, as this settles flavours of red berry fruits, some spice and gentle barrel smoke emerge. Complex and detailed, a delicious wine ready to drink from day of purchase though best from 2027 through 2037+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Aug 2024

"Dense and brooding nose of black fruit, cocoa and smoky oak, quite closed and muted. Drying woody tannins grip the palate from the outset, burying the dark fruit and crunchy bay leaf flavours under a layer of dense structure. Violet, black fig, sticky date and savoury olive flavours eventually overcome the structure on the concentrated finish, suggesting that everything will come together in time, albeit on the dark and serious side of the spectrum. Good potential here" Stephen Wong, Real Review, Oct 2024

"Medium-full depth of colour with plenty of purple in the tint; the bouquet opens with meaty charcuterie from a touch of reduction; there is ample dark cherry underneath and the palate is bold and firm, intense and tightly structured, promising to unfold more charm and detail as it ages. Cellaring recommended, but if broaching now, give it a solid decant. Serious pinot of structure and potential" Huon Hooke, Real Review, Sep 2024

Showcasing classic block 7C and 7 fruit intensity underpined by a complex savoury streak. Cherry and red fruits combine with spice, nutmeg and peppercorn on the nose, leading to a silky mouthfiling palate with greath depth, fine tannin and a long finish.

Over the years of growing on our Estate we have been impressed with the evolution of our block 7C and block 7 Pinot Noir vines which are growing in the Lochar sandy loams soils with subsurface midrow irrigation and cover crops. This is our 7th release of a barrel selection from this site and is Biogro certified organic.

A mild winter and spring provided ideal conditions at budburst and for flowering into December. No real wind or frost events allowed for excellent vine health and growth, with the strongest canopy we’d seen for years. The season was shaping up to be warmer than average, with expectations of an earlier start date to harvest, however the heat dropped off and a timely rainfall in the beginning of February returned us to our historical mean start date. During harvest we enjoyed extremely settled weather providing a wonderful picking window to bring in clean fruit of exceptional quality across the estate.

Clean low yielding Pinot Noir fruit was handharvested and fermented in small batch open top fermenters. Whole bunch fermentation comprised of roughly 25% of the blend with time on skins spent between 20 and 32 days. The wine was aged in 30% new french oak barriques for a period of 16 months, undergoing a natural spring time malolactic fermentation. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.