Harvest

13 lots, hand harvested between March 25th and April 24th 2008. Selected fruit only. Destemmed into small open top fermenters.

• Brix: 22.6 – 25.0

• TA: 6.0– 7.7g/l

• pH: 3.23– 3.43

• Yield: 2T/Ha or 8T/ac

Cellar & Bottling

Pre fermentation cold soak for 5-6 days. Native fermentation started after about 5-7 days. Manual cap management. Total time on skins 20 -30 days. Pressed, racked to barrels, about 30% new french oak, all wine barrel aged. Full malolactic in barrel. Barrel aged for fourteen months before racking, blending and bottling without any filtration.

Bottled on July 1st and 2nd

• RS: < 0.5 g/L

• TA: 5.3 g/L

• pH: 3.64

• Alcohol: 13.3%

The wine

Our vineyard work is aimed at managing the canopies and crop levels to give us the best possible fruit. Our future vineyards are being planted with a range of different clones at closer spacings to increase complexity and concentration. The 2007-08 growing season was difficult, a cool spring with frosts followed by a very warm dry period through December and January. In February we received an unseasonal amount of rain which necessitated a lot of work in the vineyards and our staff pulled leaves right up to harvest. An interesting year but nothing that Miranda and her excellent vineyard team couldn’t manage.

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 fullion in 2010

The 2008 vintage was hand-picked, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured for 14 months in French oak barriques (30% new).  Ruby-hued, it's a harmonious, very skillfully balanced wine with sweet-fruit delights, cherry, plum and spice flavours, a savoury complexity and silky tannins.  Moderately concentrated, it rests its case on finesse rather than power, offering delicious drinking now onwards."  ****

Michael Cooper's Buyer's Guide to New Zealand Wines,  2011

"Home block, older vines, some 20 years old. An elegant wine, reflecting the vintage, and showing all the charms this variety has in Waipara. Quite deep in fruit weight and tones, a lovely pinot noir with all lights flashing for something even deeper to emerge through 2O1O - and offer fine drinking well beyond that. A craftsman-like wine from the vineyard onwards, perfected by winemaker Belinda."

Best of the Best 2009


"A beautifully seductive nose displaying red cherry, game, savoury mushroom and a hint of spice characters. The palate is refined and velvety with a textured mouthfeel and integrated fine tannins. The wine is superbly balanced and poised showing excellent fruit concentration as well as layered complexity. At its best: now to 2014. $45.00 13% Screw cap. www.muddywater.co.nz. 5 Stars 93/100 - Outstanding quality showing varietal purity and exemplifying regional type."

Sam Kim, Senior Wine Judge, Wine Orbit


"Pinot Noir 2007: A gently fragrant and complex nose shows dark cherry, game and subtle spice characters with a touch of dried herb notes. It’s well weighted on the palate displaying fine silky texture, nicely balanced acidity and fine-grained tannins. The wine is superbly poised and appealing. A lovely expression of Pinot Noir as it expresses the variety’s elegance and fine mouthfeel together with a subtle influence of savoury characters."

Sam Kim, Senior Wine Judge, Wine Orbit