2008 will be remembered as being an almost perfect season in Central Otago with a long and slow ripening resulting in excellent yields and quality. Bud burst occurred at the beginning of October with some good early growth for the vines, with the following two months being a little cooler and wetter than usual. From December onwards, temperatures increased to optimum levels and the dry and relatively calm conditions resulted in excellent flowering and fruit set. The canopy and fruit were thinned regularly during the season with nearly 50% of the fruit thinned in February so that only one bunch per cane was ripened in order to ensure ultra premium quality. The Pinot Noir was hand-picked over a two week period according to the varying ripening levels across the vineyard at an average of 3.35 tonnes per hectare.

Winemaking

The fruit was chilled overnight before crushing the next day typically a 3-5 tonne lots. The crushed fruit was then cold soaked for 5 to 7 days after which it was allowed to warm as the natural yeast ferment took place. Cooling was used to ensure the ferments peaked below 32 degrees Celcuis. The wine was then held warm (>20 degrees Celcius)post ferment to allow ongoing tannin integration. After an average of 24 days on skins the wines were then pressed to tank where they were settled for 1-2 days before being racked to French oak hogsheads (34% new, 300 litre). The wine was inoculated for malolactic ferment whcih took place in the following spring. The wine was then racked out of barrels prior to the ‘09 vintage and held in tank. It was then coarse filtered prior to being bottled in July 2009

Misha’s Vineyard

Misha’s Vineyard is located on one of the most spectacular sites in New Zealand at the edge of Lake Dunstan in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago. The sun drenched north-west facing terraces of the 57 hectare estate provide the optimal conditions for producing world-class Pinot Noir and a range of aromatic white varieties.