Our Reserve Pinot Noir is hand harvested from our favourite section of Māori Point Vineyard. We have been carefully observing this special area and tasting the wines made specifically from it since 2013, and we now call this area our "Professors' Block". This one-acre block of vines was planted in 2002 with the Pinot Noir types Abel and 10/5, and it consistently creates our most elegant, layered, and long-lived Pinot Noir.

GROWING SEASON
After a moderate winter with normal rainfall, budburst occurred in late September. Flowering commenced in late November, with some rain and average temperatures. After a brief frost scare (with snow in the vineyard, frost fans running all night) in November, the growing season settled down to become one of our best ever, with above average heat accumulation. Some needed rain arrived in January, then the weather stabilised in February with warm dry conditions; which continued through harvest which began on April 4-5. 

TASTING NOTES
Although slightly cooler than 2021, the 2022 growing season was close to optimal in the ripening phase before harvest. The result is a wine that shows precocious complexity and subtlety, reminiscent of the 2015 vintage. Cherry and plum entwine with cinnamon, black pepper, thyme, all wrapped in silky, mouth-filling tannins. Simultaneously fresh and plush. The supple tannin framework provides a delicate and airy structure, and resonates with spice and earth notes.