Forrest Pinot Noir 2008
Very much a vintage in two parts – If you had finished vintage by 4pm on Monday 14 April, and we had, 2008 was a magnificent year – both in terms of quality and quantity. If you hadn’t, then a period of wetter weather compromised fruit quality due to the ravages of botrytis rot. No problems with Pinot Noir which ripened early and was happily fermenting when the rain came.
Overall, and the media have made much of this, it was a vintage where the massive investment in vineyard production, especially in Marlborough, Canterbury and Otago, came to fruition. We were all caught out, a bit, by the size of vintage because initial indications from bunch numbers, determined at flowering 2007, indicated an at best average crop. What surprised us was the success of flowering, number of berries per bunch, and the final size of individual berries at harvest. Take for example Pinot Noir – a bunch of Pinot usually averages 100g, this vintage we routinely measured bunches over 150g!
Tasting Notes
Our Pinot vines are now on average 12 years old, and are developing greater depth of fruit complexity and tannin structure as they age. Wines that combine grace and generosity when they are made with restraint and respect. Fermented in small open-top tanks, hand plunged, and aged in 30% new/70% French barrels, allowing Marlborough’s lovely fruit flavours to shine through.
The 2008 Pinot has delicious flavours of blackberry pie and dark red cherries with a distinct note of lavender and violets. In its youth this Pinot has a delicate palate, soft round and attractive drinking with sweet savoury, spicy after taste.
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