2023 La Ferme de Sato Sur les Nuages
Sato, Central Otago, New Zealand
- Five Pinot Noir clones from La Ferme de Sato, on schist and quartz gravel.
- Destemmed, wild fermented, 20 months in French oak.
- Strawberry, cherry and burnt orange over fine, mineral tannins.
- Vineyard
- La Ferme de Sato, Pisa
- Soil
- Sandy loam and loess on the top blocks, silt loam below, over schist and quartz gravel
- Clones
- 667, 777, 115, CL5 and Abel
- Grape
- 100% Pinot Noir
- Oak
- 14% new (a 500 L puncheon), the rest neutral French oak
Winemaking
Destemmed into open fermenters with no additions. Three to eight days of cold soak before a wild ferment, with one gentle punch-down or wet cap a day and 19 to 26 days on skins. Basket pressed and aged 20 months in French oak with full natural malolactic. No fining or filtration; released after a year in bottle.
Tasting Notes
Pale garnet, with fresh and dried strawberry, cherry and cranberry aromas, a twist of burnt orange and woodsy spice. Medium bodied, pure and juicy, with a solid core of fruit and fine, mineral tannins; twenty months in French oak sits quietly in the background. Crunchy and long, with a hint of smoke and flint at the close.
Distributed in Australia by Principal Wine.