M By Montana Waipara Pinot Noir 750ml

This is powerful and fruity expression of Pinot Noir from Waipara has a nice intensity of colour. The nose is bursting with classic dark plum, cherries, ripe blackberries as well as velvety notes, dark chocolate and lightly toasted oak. The midpalate is firm, with ripe tanning and a medium body. A spicy dark chocolate finish lingers on the palate.

Given the wine’s rich savoury style and its ripe tannins, this wine will have good cellaring potential and can confidently be allowed to develop over the next five  years as earthy, leather, and Mediterranean spice notes emerge and develop

The fruit comes from a combination sites. Most of the fruit is dry farmed in our Omihi vineyard. The dense Salix clay soil of Omihi promotes the primary fruit characters and spicy palate of this wine as well as the nice intensity of colour.  Our Camshorn vineyards also contribute to this wine. The vineyards are  sheltered from cool Easterly winds by the Teviotdale Hills, allowing warm daytime temperatures at ripening. The vines are planted predominantly on Glasnevin  Gravels, which are light, free-draining stony soils, consisting of a thin (200-350mm)

Waipara is a small yet diverse growing area. It provides a cool climate, a long dry  autumn and high diurnal variation, ideal for growing aromatic wines. Together with a range of clay and gravel soils, this sunny valley, sheltered from the prevailing winds, is the perfect setting for growing grapes with concentrated characters and finesse.

The growing season in Waipara for 2022 was typified by virtually no spring frosts  and dry weather during flowering which gave high crop levels going into the season, but also possibility of disease pressure. This was managed with timely canopy management and green harvesting, as well as cunning use of sheep in the vineyard which stripped leaves around the bunch zone for perfect fruit exposure. Fruit was then exposed to both sunshine and breezes keeping botrytis to a minimum, enabling picking decisions to be made on ideal ripeness.

Food Pairing: Match this savoury wine with classic New Zealand lamb, slow cooked beef, or game meats. Dishes featuring woody herbs such as rosemary and thyme will work well with this wine.