April 2023 Releases: Prince Albert 2016 Pinot Noir $48 & Prince Albert 2013 Pinot Noir $48

Prince Albert 2016 Pinot Noir $48

The 2016 vintage was hot and dry but thankfully without any extreme heat. The first signs of bud burst were on about the 31st of August and then the hottest October on record brought all the growth stages forward. Flowering commenced in late October and veraison in early January, both about two weeks earlier than usual. More drip irrigation than usual was required to maintain the soil moisture until some good rain came in late January. More fortunately, the days were cooler for the final ripening from late January enabling good aroma and flavour to develop. The grapes were picked on the 29th Feb and 4th March. As usual, disbudding, shoot thinning and leaf plucking were completed by the end of December. The warm dry weather ensured disease pressure was quite low and less spraying with copper and sulphur fungicides was required. Ultimately the grapes were in excellent condition coming into the winery. The musts looked good, with 25 brix, 0.60% acid and pH 3.3 and one of the vats was allowed to ferment with the indigenous yeasts to introduce some extra complexity. All the primary and malolactic fermentations went well. The wine was matured in a mixture of new and old French oak barrels. The finished wine has the usual blend of the three clones and has 5.8g/l of acidity, 15.1% alcohol and a pH of 3.5 and 5.6 g/l total acidity. The colour, a brilliant ruby to deep garnet, is lighter than recent vintages. There are aromas of ripe cherries, nutmeg and liquorice along with an earthy or mushroom character. The palate is medium weight with fine tannins and solid length. There is a warm cherry and blood plum character, cinnamon, nutmeg with some stone fruit texture and warm alcohol lift which builds and changes. We recommend breathing before drinking. Drinking will be best from now to at least 2024.

Prince Albert 2013 Pinot Noir $48

The growing season started after a wet winter with good early rains, but from mid October it was very dry until the season finished with a hot February and March. Bud burst was early occurring at the end of August. Flowering began in the second week of November, and the first signs of veraison were seen on the 21st January. Extensive disbudding then shoot thinning and leaf plucking was completed by the end December. Irrigation was required throughout the summer to maintain adequate soil moisture. Overall it was an excellent season for grape growing. Picking was on the 15th March. The musts looked good, at 25 brix, 0.59% acid and pH 3.4 and the primary fermentations went well. The secondary fermentation was carried out in barrels to keep the clones separate for assessment prior to blending. This year we had enough of the pommard clone (D4V2) to make it available for sale separately. The finished wine has 5.5g/l of acidity, 14.4% alcohol and a pH of 3.5. Similar to the 2012, this is another very good vintage. It has a brilliant garnet to ruby colour with aromas of spice, ripe cherries, nutmeg and liquorice. The palate is a balance of red fruits, spice with good textured structure. As usual we recommend breathing before drinking. Drink to at least 2021, probably much longer. Enjoy. In the vineyard a Clemens Undervine Weeder was introduced to help with the never ending task of keeping weeds under control, the biggest difficulty in organic vineyards.