Single Ferment "Velvet" Pinot Noir 2021

Single Ferment "Velvet" Pinot Noir 2021

Reviews

⭐ **97 pts - Decanter (Emma Jenkins Dec 2025)   
True to its name, this is deliciously plush and intense, with lifted dark plum and cherry fruit, orange blossom, spicy anise and a rich earthiness......view full article on Decanter (subscriber access)

⭐ **94 pts – The Wine Advocate, Erin Larkin (Dec 2023)**  
“Savoury notes with pink peppercorns and star anise, blood orange and raspberry leaf tea. Fine chalky tannins and elegant length. Wonderful wine. Unfined and unfiltered.”  
*(Full review available at WineAdvocate.com, subscription required)*  

⭐ **Viva Top 50 Wines of NZ 2025**  
Single Ferment “Velvet” featured among the country’s best.  

Vintage

With warm spring conditions, growth was steady throughout the vineyard. Flowering began in mid-November and following a cold front in late November, frost risk remained low for the remainder of the season. The new year brought both rain and snow leaving a dusting on the Pisa Ranges, the lowest we have ever seen this far into the season. Warm dry weather followed right through into harvest which enabled the fruit to ripen to perfection. Veraison took place at the end of January and we began our harvest in March. Optimal conditions early in the season have resulted in an above average yield and a long dry season has provided us with exceptional quality.

Winemaking

This single ferment named “Velvet” has been selected as it best expresses the Bendigo Estate vineyard and the growing season. Hand harvested on the 24th of March from block 6. Cold soaked for 5 days before indigenous yeast fermentation kicked in. Gentle hand plunging throughout ferment, followed by post-fermentation maceration of 6 days to ensure optimum fruit and tannin balance. Total time on skin: 22 days. Drained directly into selected French oak barriques (16 % new, 66 % 1 year old, 18 % 2 years old) where the wine aged for 13 months during which natural malolactic fermentation occurred.

Unfined and unfiltered.

Technical

pH: 3.71, TA: 5.5g/l, Alc: 14%

Bottling Date: 28th July 2022

Ageing Potential: 7 – 10 years

www.quartzreef.co.nz

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