2000 Pinot Noir

Tasting Date: 4 February 2006

Our 2000 Pinots are definitely wines out on the edge. A late harvest in a cool and wet season with small yields from small berries produced ripe and very intense fruit. What sets the vintage apart is the vibrant green edge from the stems used in the wine. This creates a tension in the 2000’s which you either love or hate, (it is one of our favourite vintages). Often those who are more used to new world flavours find the wine unacceptably green and often (wrongly) mistake the stem sappiness for unripe fruit characters. As the wines age, (and they age well) we are seeing the ripeness of the fruit showing clearly and the stem character is starting to reveal the fungal and forest floor characters that come from such stem components. The wine is drinking fabulously now with a purity and transparency in its palate and great mouthfeel, but needs a couple of hours to open up. The real issue is whether as the wine continues to develop, the stems will further mature to mushroom in the classic Burgundy fashion, or keep their vibrant tone drowning the fruit as it starts to retreat. Drink and Hold if you’re brave.