Harvest 

3 lots, hand harvested between April 2nd and April 4^th 2009. Selected fruit only. Destemmed into small open top fermenters.

• Brix: 24.7 – 25.4

• TA: 8.2 – 8.5 g/l

• pH: 3.26 – 3.44

• Yield: 2.1 kg per vine (4.05 T/ha)

Cellaring & Bottling 

Pre fermentation cold soak for 5 days. Native fermentation started after about 7 days. Manual cap management. Total time on skins 28 -30 days. Pressed, racked to barrels, 30% new french oak. Full malolactic in barrel. Barrel aged for fifteen months before racking, settling and bottling without any filtration.

• Bottled on August 16^th, 2010.

• RS: < 0.5 g/L

• TA: 5.3 g/L
  

• pH: 3.54
  

• Alcohol: 14.29%

The Wine 

This is the second single vineyard wine produced by Muddy Water. The vineyard, which is the home to our oldest vines, previously produced our “Mojo” Pinot Noir. The vines are mass selected 10/5 clone on calcareous clay soils.

We rarely move our wine and when possible movements are by gravity or pressure to reduce the effect of pumping. This wine will benefit from decanting about half an hour before serving.

To ensure quality and uniformity this wine is a single batch bottled under a screw cap closure. We regard bottle and batch variation as unacceptable “things of the past”.

Organic – Since 2007 Muddy Water’s estate vineyards have been farmed organically – we will achieve full organic certification for both the vineyard and winery on October 1st 2010.

Since 2006 (*****), this label has replaced Mojo as the Waipara winery's top red.  Based on the oldest vines (clone 10/5),  'tendered by slow hands',  it always reveals outstanding personality.  Hand-picked at 24.7 brix to 25.4 brix from ultra low-yielding vines (2.2 tonnes/hectare), and fermented with indigenous yeasts, the outstanding 2007 vintage (*****) was matured for 16 months in French oak barriques (30% new).  Rich and youthful in colour, it is dense, savoury and silky, with cherry, spice and herb flavour showing lovely depth, flow and complexity.  An exciting mouthful.

Michael Cooper's Buyer's Guide to NZ Wines, 2011