The Hills Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is Burgundy’s most famous Noble grape. It has the reputation of being a fickle grape that demands optimum growing conditions but is well suited to our terroir and warm days followed by cool evenings.
We have three Pinot Noir vineyards of approximately 0.75 hectare each. The vineyards are established on deep, well drained weathered granite soils and are generally located on north-east facing slopes. The vineyards are trellised and the canopy managed throughout the season to ensure optimum phenolic ripeness of the grapes. Supplementary drip irrigation is applied. The crop is reduced to between 6 and 8 tons per hectare by suckering soon after bud burst. This contributes to high quality fruit. Grapes are picked by hand.
Blend: Pinot Noir 100%
Winemaking: Fermented with selected yeasts in semi-open fermentation vats. Made in a classic, low intervention manner without extended maceration. The fermented must is lightly pressed and the wine aged for 12 months in old French Oak barrels to minimize overpowering the delicate wine with wood characters. The 2018 and later vintages relied on natural yeast for fermentation and the wine was not filtered before bottling. A light cloudiness may be observed in certain bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Colour: Bright plum skin.
Aroma: Floral cherry and berry aromas supported by delicate forest floor aromas.
Palate: Fresh red fruit flavours with light tannins and subtle earthiness on the finish.
Good to drink when released but will continue to improve over the next 3 – 5 years.
Currently available:
- Pinot Noir 2013
- Pinot Noir 2015 (sorry sold out)
- Pinot Noir 2018
Platter’s ratings:
Pinot Noir 2010 – 3 stars
Pinot Noir 2013 – 3 stars
Pinot Noir 2015 – 3½ stars
The Hills Wine 