Misha's Vineyard The High Note Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018

Misha's Vineyard The High Note Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018French oak Rose petal & violet Plum & cherry Silky, fine tannins "Pungently aromatic Pinot Noir with floral, rose petal and violet aromas occupying centre stage with a mix of spice, cherry, berry and nutty oak playing a supporting role. A silken textured wine with a lingering finish. Impressive and accessible with potential" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Dec 2019 "Wonderfully composed and expressed, the splendidly fragrant bouquet shows

• French oak
• Rose petal & violet
• Plum & cherry
• Silky, fine tannins

"Pungently aromatic Pinot Noir with floral, rose petal and violet aromas occupying centre-stage with a mix of spice, cherry, berry and nutty oak playing a supporting role. A silken-textured wine with a lingering finish. Impressive and accessible with potential" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Dec 2019

"Wonderfully composed and expressed, the splendidly fragrant bouquet shows dark cherry, raspberry, toasted almond, dark spice and floral aromas, followed by a concentrated palate that’s refined and graceful. It’s elegant yet mouthfilling and generous within a beautifully proportioned frame, finishing impressively long and expansive. At its best: now to 2028" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Dec 2019

A ruby-red Pinot Noir with classic varietal aromatics of violets, plum and cherry with hints of dark chocolate and spice, lead to a palate of ripe plums balanced with fine tannins giving great depth and length.

Misha’s Vineyard is located on a spectacular site in New Zealand on the edge of Lake Dunstan in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago. The sun drenched north-west facing terraces of the 57 hectare estate provide optimal conditions for producing world-class Pinot Noir and aromatic white varieties. Their ‘no compromise’ philosophy requires exacting viticulture regimes, hand-picking, and considerate winemaking methodologies.

The 2018 vintage was one of the hottest on record with extraordinary weather patterns resulting in a very compressed season. There were searing temperatures for days on end early in the season, along with record low rainfall. The winds came later and then heavy rains hit in early to mid-February. It was challenging to manage the rapid canopy growth and keep on top of the constant threat of mildew and botrytis. In spite of the issues, we ended up with a very healthy vineyard with a smaller than usual crop due to lower average bunch weights and smaller berries. This resulted in very good fruit concentration and expressive wines. The Growing Degree Days were 1356 and fruit for this wine was hand-picked at a yield of 3.0-6.6 tonnes per hectare.

The fruit was chilled overnight before crushing the next day typically as 2 and 4 tonne lots.
The crushed fruit was then cold soaked for 5-7 days then allowed to warm as the natural yeast ferment took place. A whole bunch component was included (6%). Cooling was used to ensure the ferments peaked below 32°C. The wine was then held warm (15-20°C) post ferment to allow ongoing tannin integration. After an average of 24 days on skins the wines were then pressed to tank where they were settled for 1–2 days before being racked into French oak hogsheads (37% new 300 litre barrels). The wine was inoculated for malolactic fermentation which took place in the following spring, then racked out of barrels prior to the 2019 vintage. It was filtered prior to bottling in April 2019.

Pinot Noir is the winemakers jewel in the crown - the focal point in this repertoire of wines so appropriately named The High Note. The name was also inspired by an opera-singing mother and an early life spent in the theatre.

Food Pairing: This Pinot Noir is very versatile and great with lamb, venison and veal, and a large range of vegetable dishes especially mushrooms. It is also the perfect accompaniment to game birds such as quail, pheasant, turkey and duck.