Nose
A floral and scented nose with a bright combination of strawberry, cherries, quince jelly and musk. In the background there are soft oak notes and just a touch of earthiness.
Palate
This displays the same intense fruit notes of the nose, with generous strawberry fruit flavours, medium weight, good acid and tannin balance and great length.
Growing Conditions
We start off the discussion of the Moss Wood 2016 Pinot Noir by noting that Margaret River racked up another excellent growing season in 2015/16. From a viticultural perspective, it was very agreeable. Annual rainfall for 2015 was good, albeit very slightly below average, at 959mm and Springtime conditions were benign, with no wind or hail damage. Overall, the temperatures were very reasonable, with the Pinot Noir experiencing 887 hours between 18⁰C and 28⁰C, plus some good warm days, two of which saw the mercury reach 39⁰C, giving a total of 58 hours above 33⁰C. Yet, as is her way, Mother Nature saw fit to throw in a couple of challenges, just to keep us on our toes. Having got the fruit safely past these various challenges, harvest commenced on 10th February 2016 at a ripeness of 13.9⁰ Baume.
Bottling
14/11/2017
Winemaking
The fruit was delivered to the winery where it was sorted, destemmed and placed into small, open fermenters. Fermentation was by multiple yeast strains, plunging for extraction of colour and flavour was done 3 times per day and temperatures were controlled to a maximum of 32⁰C. The various batches were pressed after 15 days on skins and were put into 228 litre French oak barrels, 20% of which were new and where the wine stayed for 20 months. At the end of maturation the barrels were blended and assessed for tannin balance. Fining trials showed the wine had excellent balance and did not need adjustment. It was then sterile filtered and bottled on 14th November 2017.
Appearance
Medium to deep ruby hue. Condition is bright.
