Single Ferment "Velvet" Pinot Noir 2021

"Velvet"

⭐ **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

• Winemaking
• Technical

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 yieldand a long dry season has provided us with exceptional quality.

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 ofMarch from block 6. Cold soaked for 5 days before indigenous yeast fermentationkicked 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 monthsduring which natural malolactic fermentation occurred.

pH: 3.71, TA: 5.5g/l, Alc: 14,5%
Bottling Date: 28th July 2022
Ageing Potential: 7 – 10 years

Download Tasting Notes