Oraterra Pinot Noir Martinborough 2023

A nose of fresh plums and cherry blossoms allude to this wine’s central delicate fruit aromatics. The details are found by spending time with the wine, allowing it to open up and show the warmer side with vanilla and leather.

The palate is subtle but complex with finely-spread tannins. Open and calm at the front, acidity draws the wine inwards in the middle before it shifts its weight towards the back palate, where it closes in with a combination of fruit and oak flavours.

This is an intriguing wine that doesn’t readily give away its secrets. To define this wine requires time in order to get to know the complexities and layers that are in store.

WINEMAKING - We harvest all our fruit by hand into small tubs. The fruit is sorted the following day, cold, and is all destemmed into 900kg ferment vessels. We let the newly filled vessels acclimatise and warm so that a natural fermentation occurs. An occasional hand plunge helps to keep the ferments happy and homogenous. After between 14 and 20 days in the fermenting vessel, we pressed the wines and transferred them to large format barrels, 300 and 500 litres, for 12 months. 

TECHNICAL INFORMATION - Vineyard source(s): McCreanor Vineyard, 37 Princess Street, Martinborough, NZ Harvest dates: 23 March - 5 April      |      Harvest Brix: 21.5 - 23 Brix Alcohol by Volume: 13%     |     pH 3.7      |     TA: 5.7 g/l