Sexton Vineyard is wonderfully intricate, exuding notes of wild blackberry, dried mushroom, mulberry bush and braised plum, cinnamon stick and sour cherry. The coolest slopes of Sexton are planted to five Pinot Noir clones, managed according to biodynamic principles, providing several threads of expression to weave into the final wine. Sexton's fruit focus and fine tannins are enhanced by a judicious treatment of Burgundy styled oak.
Clones MV6 and 114, 115 and G5V15, 777 and Pommard are hand picked into 300kg crates and chilled. A third of the fruit is worked as whole bunches in small open fermenters, the remainder destemmed but uncrushed and added on top. Three days of soak without any cap work is followed by a fortnight of wild indigenous yeast ferments, light plunges, drain and returns. Batches are treated to an airbag press and racked off gross lees to a mix of new and seasoned Fench oak barriques for malolactic and a year's maturation.
Bright scarlet purple colour. Lovely rustic charry notes, cinnamon, cloves, dark chocolates and ginger. Poached cherry, olive, cinnamon and treacle, orange peels and vanilla bean. Pretty and supple. An eager, youthful Pinot Noir with engaging complexity and good support from fine French oak and firm tannins. To accompany pink veal cutlets or a melt in the mouth, roast suckling pig.
