Personalised Catalina Sounds Pinot Noir 2023 13% 750ml

Personalised Catalina Sounds Pinot Noir 2023 13% 750ml

Tasting Notes
AROMA
A bit brooding at first, this takes a minute to open up. Baking spices, blueberry and cassis, reveal lifted red fruits and cinnamon, wrapped up in toasty oak.

PALATE
The palate is medium bodied with juicy red cherries, soft acid and fine chalky tannins.

FOOD MATCHING
Crispy duck pancakes, grilled quail, pulled pork, seared salmon with barbecued beetroot.

VINIFICATION
Pinot Noir was harvested over 10 days, picking blocks at optimum ripeness. All fruit is handled gently in the winery, where blocks and sub-blocks are kept separate all the way to blending. The fruit for Catalina Sounds is mostly destemmed and left at ambient temperature on skins for several days prior to fermentation. Ferments are allowed to reach max. 32 degrees with gentle handling each day and then left on their skins for about 7 days before draining and pressing to French oak, about 15-20% new. The wine was blended in February and bottled in March prior to vintage the following year.

VINTAGE NOTES
The 2021 vintage certainly had its nuances compared to vintages over the last decade. Early spring frosts, combined with cool wet weather during flowering had a significan impact across Marlborough, resulting in yields being lower than average across the region. Summer was beautifully dry and warm, and with low-yields an early harvest was upon us; starting 10 days earlier than 2020. A stunning year for Pinot Noir with small bunches and berries, packed with flavour and structure.

Catalina Sounds
New Zealand's Catalina water planes (known as flying boats) played a vital role across the South Pacific during and after World War II.

Catalina Sounds pays homage to this plane and the beauty of the Marlborough Sounds where it served and made its home.

Matthew Ward's aspiration at Catalina Sounds is to continue producing excellent quality wines of beautiful fruit expression, interest, finesse and balance. Striving to create wines of great honesty and integrity that are true to their site, while attempting to incorporate complexity and longevity into the wines.


REGION: Marlborough, New Zealand
WINEMAKER: Matthew Ward

Description
COUNTRY: New Zealand
REGION: Marlborough
VARIETY: Pinot Noir
ALCOHOL VOL.: 13.0
VINTAGE: 2023
CLOSURE: Screwcap
VOLUME: 750