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Mitre Rocks 2008 Central Otago Pinot Noir
 Mitre
Rocks philosophy is to produce high quality Pinot Noir with
distinctive depth and character. To achieve this, they employ award
winning winemaker Carol Bunn of Vinpro to craft their wine and award
winning viticulturists Robin and James Dicey of Grapevision Ltd to
manage the vineyard. With this team, you can see they take their
philosophy seriously, and why I might have been looking forward to
sampling their latest releases, like this 2008 Pinot Noir.
The Mitre Rocks vineyard is situated on the lower slopes of Central
Otago’s Pisa Range. The vines grow in glacial schist, the low
fertility, alluvial soils typical of the Cromwell basin. Like the
rest of Central Otago, Mitre Rocks experiences a cool climate of
continental extremes. It has hot dry summers, cool dry autumns and
very cold winters. The summer and autumn conditions help the fruit
to develop the intense flavour Central Otago is known for.
The 2008 vintage experienced good conditions in December, promoting
excellent fruit set. In January and February, the good weather
continued, allowing for good berry development and giving the
resulting wine excellent fruit intensity and colour. Cooler
temperatures towards the end of the season led to a later harvest to
ensure the fruit was picked in optimum condition.
When it reached the winery, the hand-harvested fruit was fermented
in small open-top stainless steel fermenters for 21 to 30 days. The
wine was then barrel matured for 12 months in French Oak, with
around 60% in new barriques. About a fifth of the wine was kept in
oak for a further 3 months to add complexity and structure. Minimal
fining and filtration was used prior to bottling.
I found the 2008 Mitre Rocks Central Otago Pinot Noir to exhibit
aromas of spice, plum, cherry and herb. On the palate I found it to
be an enjoyable wine with fruit driven flavours, particularly plum
blending with notes of spice, mushroom and dark chocolate. It has
good structure, supple tannins and a long, lingering finish. I would
recommend trying this wine with mushroom risotto or roast beef.
This wine is drinking well now but will develop further over the
next five years with careful cellaring.
Reviewed by Stephen Clark (19/7/2010)
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