Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021

Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021French oak Sweet cherry Coffee beans Velvety tannins "Delightfully ripe and elegantly fragrant with sweet cherry, thyme, floral and roasted almond notes, it's juicy and supple in the mouth delivering bright fruit flavours with silky texture and fine tannins. Beautifully styled and expressed. At its best: now to 2027' Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jul 2022 "Varietal, bright, fresh, fruity and enticing bouquet. Aromas and flavours of raspberry and red cherry

• French oak
• Sweet cherry
• Coffee beans
• Velvety tannins

"Delightfully ripe and elegantly fragrant with sweet cherry, thyme, floral and roasted almond notes, it's juicy and supple in the mouth delivering bright fruit flavours with silky texture and fine tannins. Beautifully styled and expressed. At its best: now to 2027' Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jul 2022

"Varietal, bright, fresh, fruity and enticing bouquet. Aromas and flavours of raspberry and red cherry fruits then gentle barrel spices of vanilla with a light dusty clove note. Firmish tannins accentuate the youthful side of the wine and acidity squeezes the palate nicely. A lovely example with a core of bright red fruit flavours, youthful charms and pinosity. Well made and ready for drinking from 2023 through 2027" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier

Our 2021 Cellar Selection Marlborough Pinot Noir has aromatics reminiscent of freshly roasted coffee beans and red summer fruits such as cherries and berries. On the palate, a subtle hint of toasty notes nicely frames the juicy fruit, earthy texture and soft velvety tannins.

All the Pinot Noir fruit for this wine originates from Marlborough, with 61% from the Awatere Valley and 39% from the Wairau Valley. The summer was dry with high sunshine hours during the day and the cooler nights that are typical for Marlborough. Yields were at their optimum level and the stable autumn weather allowed us to extend the hang-time of the fruit on the vines to achieve physiological ripeness.

Fruit is harvested at night during cooler temperatures, then destemmed and transferred to open-top stainless steel tanks for 3-4 days of cold soaking to extract aromatics. A mixture of indigenous and cultured yeasts are used with ferments, peaking at 32-34°c to extract the desired colour and tannins. After fermentation, the wine spent 10 months in a mixture of 5% new and 95% seasoned French oak barriques on full lees to add palate weight and texture. This wine is suitable for a plant based diet.

Food Pairing: Classic Pinot Noir pairings include duck or lamb, but also matches well with roasted beet salad.