Mahana Gravity Pinot Noir 2014

Description

Michael Glover, formerly of Bannockburn has a new home – the Mahana vineyard, a picture-perfect, 16-year-old, certified organic vineyard with a gravity fed, underground cellar that would be the envy of many a winemaker across the globe. The rolling hills of the Upper Moutere, near Nelson on the northern tip of the South Island of NZ is only a stone’s throw from the vineyard that he helped his father plant when he was a child.  Funded by hotelier, philanthropist and renowned art collector Glenn Schaeffer, Glover has been given carte blanche to create the greatest wines possible from what is clearly a superb terroir.
Mahana (meaning ‘warm place’) actually draws from two estate owned vineyards or terroirs – one in Moutere (where all the Pinot comes from) and one in the nearby Waimea area of Nelson (Sauvignon, Pinot Gris, etc). It was Moutere’s “incredible assets”, as Glover puts it, which was the reason he came back. As he puts it, “Combine these soils and sites with the Nelson climate, and you get Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling knocking at the winery door with perfect numbers and great difference. Terroir. No need for additions.”

All of Mahana’s Pinot Noir is drawn from their organic and dry grown Moutere vineyard. The clay and gravel soils and the climate of Moutere make for a powerful terroir, and even at this level there is genuine density and power. Do not expect the lightweight, berry fruited style of Pinot that you so often get at this price point. Rather, this is packed with deep, dark cherry and anise spiced fruit. There are also hints of bitter chocolate and subtle nettle on the finish. Good texture and very fine tannins complete the picture. There was no new oak used, and the wine was bottled without fining or filtration. Half of the fruit was destemmed and fermentation occurred with wild yeasts in eight-tonne open concrete fermenters. On average, the cap was plunged twice daily. After three to four weeks the ferment was pressed and transferred to old French barriques for twelve months maturation, followed by a further seven months in tank before bottling. In short, a delicious and affordable NZ Pinot.

“The wine has a youthful dark red – purple hue. There are lots of dark fruit characters such as cherry and blackberry. Also chocolate and savoury undergrowth characters of moss, mushroom and leaf litter. There are subtle herbal elements in there too. The nose is quite powerful and rich, even decadent. The nose carries to the palate which is quite rich and dark. It has a lovely velvet texture. There is plenty of sweet fruit and abundant fine tannins. Quite a mouthful at this price point.” Michael Glover, winemaker

RRP $38  *SIX PACK BUY .. $27.50 when you buy 6 of this wine*