Muddy Water 2008 Hares Breath Pinot Noir

Cellar & Bottling: Pre fermentation cold soak for 3 - 6 days. Native fermentation started after about 5 days. Manual cap management. Total time on skins 30 days. Pressed, racked to barrels, 40% new french oak. Full malolactic in barrel. Barrel aged for fifteen months before racking, settling and bottling without any filtration.

This is the third single vineyard Hare’s Breath Pinot Noir from Muddy Water and they just keep getting better! The wine is already starting to show the concentration and complexity that we believe will be the hallmark of this vineyard. The vineyard is on limestone based slopes at the back of our property. Planted in 2001 and 2002 the row and vine spacing has been reduced giving us 5000 vines per hectare. There are a range of different clones fermented together.

We rarely move our wine and when possible movements are by gravity or pressure to reduce the effect of pumping. This wine will benefit from decanting about half an hour before serving.

To ensure quality and uniformity this wine is a single batch bottled under a screw cap closure. We regard bottle and batch variation as unacceptable “things of the past”.

Reviews:

Peter Saunders, Hospitality/Thirst Magazine, January 2010,  Very tasty pinot from Waipara, from a specific part of the home vineyard where a 'large' hare resides.  True to variety, lovely fruit and texture, again one to reward  the patient who will find a refined, yet bold, flavoured wine in 2011.  Yet perfectly accessible now also.

Michael Cooper's Buyer's Guide to NZ Wines, 2010,  From 'a block on limestone slopes at the back of the property', the 2008 (****) was hand-picked at Waipara, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and matured for 16 months in French oak barriques (30% new).  The best vintage yet, it is fragrant and generous, with full, bright ruby colour, rich, ripe plum and spice flavours, complex and savoury, and the tannin structure to age.

Amberley A&P Show, October 2009,  Muddy Water came 1st Reserve Champion