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2006 Earth Smoke Pinot Noir

1 tonne/acre from our east-facing home block; first crop from six year old vines. Deep, beautifully structured, clay-limestone soils: 30% clay, 12-15% active lime.

100% destemmed, by hand. Ambient soak of 5-7 days, warm indigenous yeast fermentation, 27-28 day cuvaison. Natural, spring malolactic. Twenty months on original lees in French barriques (33% new); bottled unfined and unfiltered, with the moon in Leo, January 2008. Alcohol 13%, pH 3.67. Production: 60 cases.

Light ruby/garnet.
Pungent, precise, sauvage nose of smoke, chalk, wild (salmonberry, fraises des bois) and cultivated (blood orange, red currant) fruits, along with notes of musky spice, and fur. Gives a strong impression of being more soil- than grape-driven. Surprisingly docile in texture, but penetrating in flavor: again wild red fruits, furred game and toasted spices. Complex, dizzying, intense. Provides a wild ride, for so delicate and weightless a wine.

2006 Angel Flower Pinot Noir

Also 1 tonne/acre, here from our north-facing home block; again, first crop and six year old vines. Denser, shallower soils, still clay-limestone: 20% clay, 3-7% active lime.

100% destemmed, by hand. Ambient soak of 5-7 days, warm indigenous yeast fermentation, 27-28 day cuvaison. Natural, spring malolactic. Twenty months on original lees in French barriques (33% new); bottled unfined and unfiltered, with the moon in Leo, January 2008. Alcohol 13.5%, pH 3.56. Production: 30 cases.

Ruby/black.
Fresh red fruits: strawberry, cherry, raspberry; light spice (nutmeg) and warm wood notes; harmonious and pretty, but mysterious, and intricately faceted. Vivid and energetic on the palate, with bright red fruit and subtle spice flavours, given length and tension by the limestone soils. Charming and invigorating, simultaneously.

2007 Kerner Estate Pinot Blanc

3.8 tonnes/acre from this cool, strong-soiled site on Fareham Lane in the Waihopai Valley. Hand picked, whole bunch pressed, no settling; indigenous yeast fermentation lasting 13 months, in used French oak, both barriques and puncheons. Bottled May 2008. Alcohol 14%, pH 3.60, RS 3.4 g/l. Production 550 cases.

Pale gold. (Clarity: the last glass or two poured will perhaps present a slight haze, as this wine was bottled unfined, unfiltered, unmolested. Please accept this as a sign of quality, of character intact, as you would the kink in an organic carrot, or the cream in unhomogenised milk.)

Candied orange peel; clove, cinnamon, mace; a pungent honey note, like miel des forets; marmalade, baked apricot; brioche.

Powerful on the entry, broad and rich - orange flan, spice cake - but crisp acidity and brisk minerality quickly follow, girdling the ample flesh of the wine. (This really shows the concentrating effect of very small berries, millerandage: no etiolated, fragile blossom here. Built like Mae West, and may age as conspicuously well.)

2007 Rose Riesling

2.9 tonnes /acre from this meticulously managed block, contiguous with the Lebecca vineyard in Rapaura; dense silts with deep gravel bedding.

A late pick of immaculately clean and golden fruit. Hand picked, whole bunch pressed, no settling. Warm, indigenous yeast fermentation of 12 months, in both stainless steel and neutral oak. Bottled May 2008. Alcohol 13.1%, pH 3.24, TA 6.9g/l, RS 9g/l. Production 85 cases.

Light straw/gold.
Initially somewhat closed; then still strict, but expressive: dried apricot, mandarin peel, quince, and cooking apple; also crushed rock, and a balsam/sandalwood note.
Dense, introverted, with chalky phenolics and great mineral grip; an unusual kind of balance, less fulcrum (counterpoise of acid and sugar) than gyroscope - internal components whirring in independent equilibrium; exciting for the dynamism, the energy this creates.

2006 Eaton Family Pinot Noir

2.6 tonnes/acre, from a steeply sloping, close planted, north facing vineyard in the Omaka Valley. Dense, clay soils.

Hand picked, 100% destemmed, transferred by gravity to tank. Ambient soak of 5-7 days, warm indigenous yeast fermentation, 27-28 day cuvaison. Natural, spring malolactic. Fifteen months on original lees in French barriques (33% new); bottled unfined and unfiltered on the winter equinox, June 2007. Alcohol 14.2%, pH 3.65. Production: 370 cases.

Very deep ruby.
Red, black and blue fruits; focussed, precise; brush, bark, loam; a pungent earthy note, the smell of soil clinging to fresh roots.
Black cherry, boysenberry; dovetailing tannins; insular and concise; condenses to a kernel of earth and blue fruit; then, urgent on the finish, with accelerative length.

2007 Calvert Vineyard Pinot Noir

Only 0.7 tonnes/acre this year (due to poor weather at flowering) from this beautiful Bannockburn site, managed biodynamically by the brilliant team at Felton Road. Soils of schist and quartz sand.

Hand picked, 85% destemmed, 15% whole cluster, transferred by gravity to tank. Ambient soak of 5-7 days, warm indigenous yeast fermentation, 27-28 day cuvaison. Natural, spring malolactic. Fifteen months on original lees in French barriques (33% new); bottled unfined and unfiltered on the winter equinox, June 2008. Alcohol 13.5%, pH 3.67. Production: 140 cases.

Ruby/black.
Very high-tone and aromatic, compellingly dark, yet floral: Asian spice - soy, licorice - and black fruits: boysenberry, blackberry, blackcurrant; violet, iris, and cultivated rose.
Fresh and mouth-watering, but deeply layered: ripe black fruits again, also olive, thyme, black pepper; very, very long, the finish coming in waves. A midnight vision of this site.

2006 Calvert Vineyard Pinot Noir

2.6 tonnes/acre from this beautiful Bannockburn site, managed biodynamically by the brilliant team at Felton Road. Soils of schist and quartz sand.

Hand picked, 100% destemmed, transferred by gravity to tank. Ambient soak of 5-7 days, warm indigenous yeast fermentation, 27-28 day cuvaison. Natural, spring malolactic. Fifteen months on original lees in French barriques (33% new); bottled unfined and unfiltered on the winter equinox, June 2007. Alcohol 14.2%, pH 3.65. (Yes, the same handling and figures as the wine above.) Production: 500 cases.

Brilliant ruby.
Wild cherry (griotte), raspberry vine; enormously floral: rose, carnation, iris, thyme blossom; also, a highly-pitched stone note.
Headily perfumed: bright and pale red fruits - cherry, raspberry, thimbleberry; again a memory of thyme; vivid and nervous on the palate, bright, tight and long. Very schist-y.

2007 Orton Gewurztraminer

3 tonnes harvested from this one acre plot of 30 year-old vines, sadly uprooted after this, their final season. Heavy clay soils in this sheltered site on Omarunui Road in Hawke's Bay.

Hand picked, whole bunch pressed, no settling; vigorous, indigenous yeast fermentation lasting 7 months, in mostly used French oak (20% new), primarily puncheons. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, and unsulphured, May 2008. Alcohol 14.5%, pH 3.91, RS 1.7 g/l. Production 230 cases.

Burnished gold. (Especially here, please see clarity notes above.)
Musk, rose oil, dried lavender, and a complex mix of spice: cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cumin, curry.
Penetrating and expansive, broad but sleek; smoked meat, floral pastilles, nut paste, brown spice; a retro-olfactory, aromatic lift allows this powerfully built wine to remain delicate, light on its feet.

2006 Kerner Estate Pinot Blanc

3.4 tonnes/acre from a cool, strong-soiled site on Fareham Lane in the Waihopai Valley.

Hand picked, whole-bunch pressed, no settling; indigenous yeast fermentation lasting 11 months, in mostly older French oak (15% new). Bottled without fining in March 2007. Alcohol 13.9%, pH 3.40, RS 2.5 g/l. Production 350 cases.

Pale yellow/gold.
Yellow plum (mirabelle) and honeydew; wild- or hedgeflowers, e.g. hawthorn blossom; and a leesy, biscuity, nutty complexity from the very long ferment.
Fresh, floral, delicate, but with surprising texture and volume; affable, delicious, but serious and concentrated enough to weather scrutiny.

2006 Hille Semillon

2.9 tonnes/acre from this vineyard at the very top of the Brancott valley; remorselessly stony soils and a long growing season.

Hand picked in three separate tries, whole-bunch pressed, no settling, indigenous yeast fermentation in French oak, primarily 500 litre puncheons (55% new). Bottled June 2007 after 15 months on original lees. Alcohol 13.9%, pH 3.35, RS 2.0 g/l. Production: 510 cases.

Pale gold with green tinges.
Penetrating nose of lemon flower, kaffir lime, Vietnamese mint, chervil, candle wax.
Great thrust, elongating energy, verve; an exciting combination of viscosity and racy acidity (mandarin).

2006 Lebecca Riesling

3.9 tonnes/acre from this vineyard on Wratts Road in Rapaura; deep, gravelly silts.

A Spatlese pick: ripe, clean, sunny fruit, with no botrytis. Hand picked, whole-bunch pressed, lightly settled. Indigenous yeast fermentation of 4 months, then cooled to achieve a harmonious sugar/acid balance. Held in tank for another 8 months. Bottled March 2007. Alcohol 8.5%, TA 8.4g/l, pH 3.10, RS 54g/l. Production 620 cases.

Very pale white gold.
Pear, spice, and river stone aromas, with an intriguing briny, sea spray character.
Bright and focussed, delicately sweet; pithy phenolics provide shape and grain, and give a tactile impression; finishes long, clean, and minerally.

2005 Eaton Family Pinot Noir

1.8 tonnes/acre, from a steeply sloping, close-planted, north-facing vineyard in the Omaka Valley. Uneven fruit set yielded a high proportion of tiny berries, increasing substantially the skin and seed to juice ratio.

Hand picked, 100% destemmed, transferred by gravity to tank. Ambient soak of 5-7 days, warm indigenous yeast fermentation, 27-28 day cuvaison. Natural, spring malolactic. Twenty months on original lees in French barriques (33% new); bottled unfined and unfiltered on the summer equinox, December 2006. Alcohol 13.6%, pH 3.60. Production: 200 cases.

Deep, black/ruby robe.
Bramble, bark, quatre epices, opening to red and black forest fruits: raspberry, mulberry, sloe; also a sweet, low floral note.
Starts dense, internalised, almost sullen, but turns dynamic, fresh and expansive, especially on the back palate; still wearing its energy most obviously on the singing finish. Should have a long, graceful evolution in bottle.

2005 Hille Vineyard Semillon

2.4 tonnes/acre from this vineyard at the very top of the Brancott valley; remorselessly stony soils and a long growing season.

Hand picked (of course), whole-bunch pressed, no settling, indigenous yeast ferment in mix of old and new French barriques. Bottled March 2006 after 11 months on original lees. Alcohol 13.9%, pH 3.20, RS 2.0 g/l.

Pale gold with green tinges.
Trenchant nose combines lime leaf, honey, wet stone and coriander seed, with the distinctive waxiness of ripe Semillon.
Fresh, dense, and penetrating; brisk and lively, with good energy and vibrant acidity, underlain by an expansive opulence.

2004 Eaton Family Pinot Noir

2.0 tonnes/acre, from a steeply sloping, close-planted, North-facing vineyard in the Omaka Valley.

Hand picked, destemmed, bucketed (not must pumped) to tank. No tartaric acid additions (and no evil taint of enzymes). Ambient soak of 4-7 days, warm indigenous yeast fermentation, 27-28 day cuvaison. Natural, Spring malolactic. Racked (once) to tank after 18 months in French barriques (36% new), bottled unfined and unfiltered on the Summer equinox, December 2005. Alcohol 14.2%, pH 3.65.

Ruby/garnet color : an unapologetic Pinot Noir hue.
Complex wild cherry, spice, and loam nose; fragrant, fine, and perfumed, with a pronounced dusty/earthy register from clay soils.
Supple and seamless, with good grip and persistence; delicate, ethereal, but billowing fine-grained tannins provide structural support.

2005 Lebecca Riesling

3.3 tonnes/acre from this vineyard on Wratts Road in Rapaura; deep, gravelly silts.

A classic Auslese pick: ripe, golden, non-botrytis-affected bunches. Hand picked, whole-bunch pressed, lightly settled. Indigenous yeast fermentation of 4 months, which stopped naturally. Held in tank on fine lees for another 7 months. Bottled March 2006. Alcohol 8.5%, TA 8.4g/l, pH 3.10, RS 74g/l.

Pale yellow-white gold.
Fresh ripe pear and spiced apple aromas, with a pungent sulphidic mineral note.
Rich and tactile in the mouth, generously textured, but refreshing acidity and focusing phenolics lend thrust and verve, and the salty minerality prolongs the finish.

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