2014 Te Rehua

From the Barton vineyard with 23-year-old vines on alluvial gravels, many clones, high-density planting. Hand harvested, fermented with ambient yeast. Total maceration time 24 days with hand-plunging in open-top wooden fermenters. Aged in French oak for 18 months, 30% new. Fined with egg white, unfiltered. TA 5.5 g/l, pH 3.52. A little darker fruited than the Kiwa, peppery. The oak very much in the background. Dark and brooding with that same refined chalky texture and lots of freshness. Very dry and fine-boned on the palate and needs time to become more expressive. Super-dry finesse in the tannins. (JH)

(from 23-year-old vines and multiple clones planted in a sheltered spot): Bright, dark red-ruby. Distinctly dark aromas of black raspberry, black cherry, anise, licorice, black pepper and black tea. Silky and enveloping; a very spicy, darker style of Pinot but with a wonderfully fine-grained, seamless texture. Plenty of fruit here, complicated by underlying salinity. Finishes with very suave, building tannins and sneaky length.