With each vintage, our flagship Pinot Noir aims to most beautifully capture the evolving maturity of our vineyard; offering us a natural expression of our unique terroir in Southeast Kelowna.
A bright cherry hue in the glass, aromas of graphite, wet earth, sun ripe plums and Bing cherries with a subtle raspberry cola note emerge. We’re seeing a lovely savoury herbal character from the stem inclusion over ferment.
The palate is slightly wound at first splash in the glass, but with great freshness. As it opens, blackberry and fresh cranberry with red apple and rhubarb pie feature on the palate. The texture has a wonderful length and a grip and release to the tannin profile. One to watch evolve over the years.
WINEMAKER'S NOTES
Crafted from multiple clones from our estate Pinot Noir blocks, along with a small percentage of fruit from a neighbouring East Kelowna vineyard of great pedigree, parcels of fruit were handpicked and vinified in small lots using 100% wild fermentation. Each parcel was fermented separately, with a light working once a day through fermentation, mainly by way of gentle foot-treading.
Anywhere from 10-40% whole bunches were used over ferment. Once the wine had finished primary fermentation the must was gently pressed between 18-30 days on skins depending on the block. The wine was then aged in oak barriques (25% new) for 10 months, at which time it was blended and put back to neutral barrel for an additional 5 months. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered in February 2024. Clonal selection: 114, 115, 667, 777, 828, 37, 943.
TECHNICAL INFO
Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir
Alcohol: 13.3%
Residual Sweetness: 0.07 g/L
pH: 3.74
Total Acidity: 6.0 g/L
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VINTAGE NOTES
2022 was a challenging season, but it produced some exceptional quality grapes and resulting wines. The winter of 21/22 was harsh, with many vines exhibiting primary bud damage following a cold snap of -26.5 around Christmas. Above average rainfall in May charged the soil with water and gave the vines everything they needed to hit the ground running after a long winter and late bud break. The rain continued into June meaning no irrigation was needed for the vines till much later than average and allowed the cover crop to flourish.
Summer was mild though some hot spells in late July and early August helped push the season along. September and October were perfect for developing flavours in the grapes while not having too much sugar produced. This resulted in balanced wines with moderate alcohol. A cold snap in early November just after all the sparkling and still wines had been harvested meant that we were able to produce our first icewine since 2017.
