Mt. Difficulty Pinot Noir 2010
Excellent concentration, with the hallmarks of a warmer season – concentrated ripe dark
fruit mingled with a touch of red fruit and a splash of savoury spice!
A nicely odd-ball vintage with warm conditions being over-ruled by ongoing winds and
rapidly changing weather systems. Low initial bunch numbers coupled with the climatic
variability led to yields being down by about 20% on average. A fantastic autumn helped
bring the grapes through their last phase of ripening beautifully. Harvest was the latest we
have ever experienced with first fruit not being picked till the 8th April. The blocks which are
typically early were late, whilst our later blocks were harvested about their normal
timeframe, leading to a very compacted busy vintage.
- Vineyards
- The grapes for the wines that carry the Mt Difficulty Estate label are subject to two strict criteria: they are
managed under the umbrella of the Mt Difficulty viticultural team and must be sourced from vineyards
situated on the South side of the Kawarau River at Bannockburn. Each has a specific terroir, largely
influenced by climate, and offers a variety of soil types from open gravels to heavier clays. They are all low in
fertility, and include light sands, clays, loams and gravels. Mt Difficulty Estate Pinot Noir is blended from a
range of Bannockburn vineyards, with the majority of grapes coming from earlier plantings which are
predominantly clones 5, 6 and 10/5. More recent plantings are a mix of Dijon clones: 113, 115, 667 & 777.
- Winemaking Considerations
- Low yields this year were primarily due to low bunch numbers coming into the 2010 season. Reasonable
conditions at flowering led to low yields, averaging 4.0 Tonnes/Ha. We began harvesting our Pinot Noir
slightly later than usual on the 7th April and continued through to the 29th. Where possible we try to coferment different clonal lots from the same vineyard, whilst vineyards were kept separate. The majority of
the lots were de-stemmed only; the remaining third contained 22-35% whole clusters. The must underwent
8-9 days of cold maceration during which time it was hand plunged once daily. The ferments were heated
after day 8/9 and all fermented with indigenous yeasts. The ferments lasted for an average of 7-8 days
during which time they were hand plunged three times per day with the temperature peaking at 330C. The
wine stayed on skins for a further 6-8 days post-dryness, and was plunged once to twice a day with
increasing ease. When the wine tasted in harmony it was pressed off to barrel where it resided on full lees
for 12 months. It underwent malolactic fermentation in the spring, was racked out of barrel in mid spring
and filtered prior to bottling.
- Tasting Notes
- A warm, low-yielding vintage has produced a Pinot Noir displaying ripeness concentration and balance; dark
fruits of the forest dominate the aroma and these are underpinned by lifted florals and black cherry,
balanced with sweet aromatic spice notes. The wine has a ripe concentrated front palate, which displays
these same characters in abundance. The mid palate is fleshy and well textured, and the wine finishes with
a combination of ripe, fine-grained tannin, fruit and acidity.
- Cellaring Potential
- Mt Difficulty Estate Pinot Noir will improve for 7-10 years given optimal vintage and cellaring conditions.
- Alcohol
- 14%
- T/Acidity
- 5.3gL-1
- pH
- 3.7
- Residual sugar
- Nil
ACCOLADES
- MT DIFFICULTY PINOT NOIR 2010
- 92 Points - The Age/Sydney Morning Herald 2013 Good Wine Guide Reviews
- MT DIFFICULTY PINOT NOIR 2010
- 5 Stars - Geoff Kelly
- MT DIFFICULTY PINOT NOIR 2010
- 92 Points - Jeremy Pringle, The Main Course
- MT DIFFICULTY PINOT NOIR 2010
- 5 Crackers - Cracka Wine
- MT DIFFICULTY PINOT NOIR 2010
- 90 Points - Huon Hooke
- MT DIFFICULTY PINOT NOIR 2010
- Wine Spectator - 93 Points
- MT DIFFICULTY PINOT NOIR 2010
- Rating of 95/100
- THE GREAT NEW ZEALAND PINOT NOIR CLASSIFICATION 2012
- Mt Difficulty gets 5 Star Rating for 5th Consecutive Year