Andrew Blake, Anna Kingscote — Marlborough, New Zealand
Tasting Notes
Alluring aromas of blackberrys, plum, five spice and clove with notes of brambly forest floor and warm, freshly turned earth. The palate is firm with well structured tight tannin yet it’s supple with fleshy fruit and a touch of oak spice. A wine that will reward cellaring.
Winemaking Notes
Fruit for the Brothers 2010 Marlborough Pinot Noir was sourced from the lower Waihopai Valley and Kaituna on the Northern side of the Wairau River. The Waihopai fruit was clean with ripe stems so we kept approximately 20% whole bunches. Time will tell if these contribute to
the perfume and the aroma and palate complexity. The Kaituna fruit was left to hang to achieve optimal maturity to maximise sugar and flavour. Both vineyards were hand harvested and partially crushed then held cold on skins for 7 to 10 days for flavour extraction. The must was warmed and a natural, wild ferment started.
Fermentation was completed over 12 to 16 days and the wine was left on skins for four days to bring it all together. The wine was then pressed into 225 L and 300 L French oak barrels ranging from first to fifth use.
A natural malo-lactic fermentation was completed in spring as the cellar warmed up. We conducted several
tastings to select barrels that would blend to create an aromatically complex wine with a palate that shows fruit expression and structure. The new oak component is 26%. The blend received no fining and settled naturally before bottling without filtration in September 2011.
