GIESEN THE BROTHERS CANTERBURY PINOT NOIR 2004

 

TASTING NOTES

Brick red in colour. Complex with lifted sandalwood aromas and subtle notes of fennel and liquorice with sweeter aromas of cooked sugar and strawberry jam over classic savoury and gamey notes

Medium bodied with flavours of liquorice, cinnamon and nutmeg dry spices and an elegant acidity with fine, soft tannin providing enduring length.

 

WINEMAKING NOTES

The 2004 Canterbury vintage was very good from flowering to harvest. Considerable effort went into ensuring the vines were in balance. The several sub blocks of Pinot at the Giesen Burnham vineyard were hand harvested over two and a half weeks. The fruit was hand sorted then destemmed and partially crushed to retain a high proportion of whole berries. After approximately 7 days of cold maceration for flavour and colour extraction the tanks were warmed for fermentation. A combination of hand plunging and pumpovers maintained a steady ferment over 6 days followed by a further 2 or 3 days on skins before pressing. The wine was transferred to French oak barrels where it completed malolactic fermentation in summer and matured for 12 months. The blend was selected from 65% new oak barrels (the balance were 1 and 2 year old) then fined with egg whites and bottled in June 2005. 

 

These bottles are individually numbered, Giesen The Brothers Canterbury Pinot Noir 2004 had a total of 492 bottles released from the Giesen Library stocks. This was released on 1st October 2009.

 

WINEMAKING DATA

Harvested: 24th April to 9th May 2004	Aging Potential: 5 years min
Brix at harvest: 20.4 – 25.2º	Alcohol: 13%
Total Acidity at harvest: 5 – 6.6g/L	TA in wine: 5.76 g/L
pH at harvest: 3.39 – 3.62	pH in wine: 3.53

Winemaker

Andrew Blake