Main Divide is the mighty range of Southern Alps which form the backbone of Te Wai Pounamu. The highly accomplished Pegasus Bay team work with good local growers to realize harvests of the finest fruit. Pinot Noir is assembled from a handful of choice vineyards planted to unique terroirs, which can speak of the world's most challenging mesoclimes. An artisanal Burgundy style vinification achieves a rich and seductive Pinot wine, endowed with savoury meat and trade spice characters, integrated oak and harmonious tannins.
Harvests are collated from select vines planted to a mixture of clay and stony soils. Good exposure to sunlight in the lee of the southern Alps is essential to keeping the fruit healthy and well ventilated, achieving optimal ripening. Grapes are destemmed into small fermenting vats, retaining as many whole berries as possible. Several days of cold settling are followed by a wild indigenous yeast vinification. The fermenting caps are submerged twice daily for optimal extractions. Upon completion, components are held on skins for several weeks, infusing complexity and enhancing textures, before transfer into a selection of Burgundian coopered French oak barriques for malolactic and a year's maturation.
Bright ruby hue. Raspberry, bramble and black cherry nose, hints of cinnamon, liquorice, wood smoke and barbecued meat. A generously fruit filled palate supported by a spine of muscular ripe tannins, contributing vibrancy and length. Dark plum, truffles and spice, earthy flavours and underlying power. Match with coq au vin, barbeques and slow cooked game.