Wine of the Month: Amos Pinot Noir including a complimentary Howard Vineyard bottle opener

For the month of April we celebrate the much anticipated release of our 2021 Amos Pinot Noir

2021 Howard Vineyard Amos Pinot Noir

12.5% Alcohol

3.52pH

7.1g/l TA

Beautiful Valley Vineyard, Charleston

Viticulture

The vine rows are spaced 2.2 metres apart and with trellis set for vertical shoot positioning, the foliage is held up and trimmed to become hedge-like. This maximises dappled sunlight exposure, reduces disease and encourages a generous canopy for steady ripening during the autumn. Each row also provides a wind break for the adjacent row during flowering and pollination and provides some shade to offset the direct sunlight stress of summer heat waves. Block E has vine spacing of 1.5m (3030 vines per hectare)

Clones: D5V12, 115, 114, MV6 and 777

Optimum yields are approximately 8 tonnes per hectare.

Winemaking

Grapes are handpicked and all 5 clones were kept separate, 25% whole bunches were used. The remaining fruit was de-stemmed and chilled with minimal crushing into small open top fermenters. The must was allowed to macerate at low temperature for 5 days before warming. The ferment started slowly but was allowed to reach a peak temperature of 26 degrees before chilling. The wine was pressed from skins prior to becoming dry to retain fresh fruit character and avoid extractive tannins. The wine finished fermentation in a stainless steel tank and was then racked in new French oak for malo-lactic fermentation. This was completed by the end of Spring 2021 after which the wine was racked barrel to barrel and allowed to mature in our cool cellars for a further 9 months in total, predominantly in 500L puncheon French oak barrels. Only the best barrels are then selected for our Amos wines. The wine was then bottled with minimal clarification and  So2.

Bouquet

Lifted fresh red strawberries, cherries and black fruits, layered with a touch of earth spice from some whole bunch fermentation.

Palate

Juicy and red fruit, cooked rhubarb and green strawberries with a soft and supple palate. There is a hint of spice and fresh herbs, mouthwatering natural acidity and fine tannins result in a textural and long flavour, with just a touch of fine French oak.