Picnic Pinot Noir - 2016

About the wine

Featuring the Proprietor’s Grandfather, Sydney Neill – Wine Merchant, on the label, Picnic is our perennial favourite – the wine to enjoy everyday and a wonderful introduction to the pleasure of Central Otago Pinot Noir. Picnic Pinot Noir is made in a diminutive style aimed to reflect the characters that Central Otago Pinot does so very well – black and red cherry fruit, spice and a generosity that keeps you reaching for the next sip. 100% estate grown and organically farmed on Sam Neill's Central Otago vineyards.

Tasting Notes

Featuring the Proprietor’s Grandfather, Sydney Neill – Wine Merchant, on the label, Picnic is our perennial favourite – the wine to enjoy everyday and a wonderful introduction to the pleasure of Central Otago Pinot Noir. Picnic Pinot Noir is made in a diminutive style aimed to reflect the characters that Central Otago Pinot does so very well – black and red cherry fruit, spice and a generosity that keeps you reaching for the next sip. 100% estate grown and organically farmed on Sam Neills Central Otago vineyards.

Vintage Comment:

The Two Paddocks 2016 harvest began on the 5^th of April 2016. Overall very clean and balanced fruit was achieved from ripening under extended settled warm autumn conditions. After a cool start to the growing season with 18 frost events in 6 weeks, the heat really only arrived after flowering in late December. Rainfall for the entire 8-month growing season of Sept-Apr was low with only 160mm received in total. February was the start of the 'big finish', which saw an average temp of 19C for the month. This flowed into March, April and May, which were all warm, settled and dry. Vintage was extraordinarily compact meaning that all harvesting was over by the 26^th of April. *All Two Paddocks fruit is hand picked by our own crew.

Winemakers Notes:

Hand harvested, 85% de-stemmed and given 5-7 days pre-fermentation cold maceration. After an indigenous ferment the wine is given another 5-7 days post ferment time on skins. Wine is then transferred to 1-4 year old French medium toast barriques for a10 month maturation, before racking and bottling.

Spicy dark berry fruit aromatics, followed by a bright juicy textural mouthfeel, showing some minerality with vibrancy and persistence.

Central Otago Sub-regional composition: 64% Alexandra, 28% Gibbston, 8% Bannockburn

pH 3.65TA6.1 g/L Alc 13.0%

Proprietor: Sam Neill Viticulturist: Mike WingWinemaker: Dean Shaw

Bottled: February 2017Cellaring: 2017 – 2021