2019 Blank Canvas, Settlement Vineyard Pinot Noir, 6x750ml

2019 Blank Canvas, Settlement Vineyard Pinot Noir, 6x750ml

Vegetarian
Sustainable
Practicing Organic

Alcohol: 13.5%

Availability: In stock

Case size: 6 / Bottle size: 750ml

Duty Status
From £150.00

Critics Score: 95

Publication: Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review

Drinking Dates: 2021-2033

Intense, powerful, firmly-structured pinot noir from the Omaka Valley in the Southern Valleys subregion. The 50% whole-bunches in the ferment has contributed to the wine's tannic backbone, which is balanced by sweet fruit. Floral, dark cherry and dried herb flavours. A richly-textured wine with obvious cellaring potential
Producer
Blank Canvas is the vinous studio of award-winning international winemaking consultant Matt Thomson and Master of Wine Sophie Parker-Thomson. With over 40 years of collective experience in the global wine industry, they produce small batch fine wines from exceptional single vineyard sites throughout New Zealand under their art-meets-science project. Matt has worked over fifty vintages in numerous wine regions around the world. Sophie has been travelling to Europe and working with Matt since 2011, leaving her career in law behind her. This international experience is the founding inspiration for this husband-and-wife team.

Vineyards
The stunning Settlement Vineyard is in the Omaka Valley microregion of the Southern Valleys. Blank Canvas are entrusted with a small one-hectare parcel of Clone 777 Pinot Noir, a perfumed Dijon clone that delivers naturally small bunches. This hillside block, called the 'Back Block', is north-facing and planted to a high density of 3788 vines per hectare on wind-blown loess over low vigour clay loams. The vineyard was planted in 2009 and is now Bio-Gro certified and farmed organically. It is cane pruned and VSP trained.

Vintage
2019 was a very low-yielding vintage for Pinot Noir; the result of a combination of one of the driest growing seasons on record in Marlborough, but also inclement weather during flowering and sizing. This meant small bunches and small berries with thick skins at harvest time. It was a year where use of whole-bunch was essential to ensure that balance and pinosity remained.

Vinification
The Settlement Vineyard Pinot Noir was hand-harvested on the 20th March. 50% of the fruit was tipped into an open-tank fermenter with the balance crushed over the top. The fruit was kept cool until natural fermentation commenced after five days. The tank was hand-plunged throughout its 15-day fermentation period after which the wine was drained and pressed to 100% French oak barriques (35% new, low-toast) for natural malocatic fermentation. After 12 months in oak, the wine spent a further three months in tank to gently and naturally settle. It was bottled without filtration on the 3rd June 2020.