Terrace Edge Pinot Noir

Crafted in a time-honoured Burgundian fashion, using small vat fermentation with indigenous yeast. Gentle winemaking follows in order to ensure delicate colour and flavour extraction. The wine is then given 10 months maturation in 25% new French oak barrels. A fabulously enchanting bouquet of aromatic floral tones marries seamlessly with a real pot-pourri of damson, dark cherry and black raspberry fruit. Deep, layered and as caressing as satin on the palate, yet with a spine of telling freshness and ripe, well-etched tannins. Linear and focused with a fine persistent finale. Delicious now, but will keep for five years or more.

• ***** 5 Stars – 19/20 – Raymond Chan, ‘Darkish ruby-red colour with slight purple hues, lighter on the rim.  The nose is soft and initially a little restrained in expression, but growing to show good depth and presence with a core of ripe, dark-red berry and cherry fruit with some raspberry liqueur notes, dark herbs and dark-red florals unfolding a hint of minerals.  Medium-full bodied, the palate is rich and vibrant with sweet and spicy flavours of dark-red berry fruits that fill the mouth.  The fruit has notes of dark-red plums and liquorice, entwined with florals and mineral elements, forming a deep, well-packed, ripe, rounded heart.  The tannin are ripe and the structure balances the fruit sweetness with its extraction and grip.  The wine flows positively to a fulsome, sweetly rich, lingering finish.  This is a sweetly rich and ripe Pinot Noir with flavours of dark raspberries, with notes of liquorice, plums and dark herbs on a well-balanced and structured palate.’ June 2017 (2016 vintage)
• 16/20 – JancisRobinson.com, ‘Dark fruit with bramble flavours and a density that is very New Zealand, if not classically Pinot. Peppery finish, finely sanded tannin. Just a touch of bitterness to finish.‘ Richard Hemming MW, October 2017 (2016 vintage)
• 91 Points Decanter – David Longfield Part of New Zealand organic wines to try
  ‘From a small, family-run vineyard where the Chapmans exercise ‘ultra-fastidious’ care in the vineyard and winery. In 2018, cool autumn nights from late March slowed ripening, though good dry weather allowed for a long hang-time through to full ripening. Destemmed grapes were cold-soaked in open-top fermenters, with natural fermentation starting after about five days, manual cap-plunging and post-fermentation maceration of up to three weeks; the wine was then pressed into French oak barriques, 25% new, and aged for 11 months. Really fresh on the nose with very pure fruit character of red berries and red cherry. The palate is an intriguing combination of creamy texture, sweet red fruits and plums with gentle herbal touches, and an underlying, drying layer of dark-spice clove and liquorice notes. Tannins are nicely softened: balanced and very drinkable.’ (2016 vintage)

**Vineyard of the Year** New Zealand Organic Wine Awards 2018 Spontaneously purchased in 1999, after exploring the Marlborough wine region, Terrace Edge Wines in the Waipara Valley is the very essence of a family owned and operated business. The North Canterbury property was originally a sheep farm, and the Chapman family began their land conversion by planting 2000 olive trees on the lower terrace. The planting of twelve hectares of vines followed. With no previous experience, the development of the business was taken on with a real trial and error approach. The development of Terrace Edge has not been unlike producing a truly great wine, it requires a real hands-on approach. The whole family is involved in the various aspects of the business. The warm days, cool nights and dry autumns of the Waipara Valley are ideal for producing outstanding wines, which reflect the varied aspects of their growing conditions. The Terrace Edge vineyard is planted in accordance with the variation in soil across the estate. Each plot has been specifically selected and matched with specific vine varieties in order to express their most desirable qualities in the finished wines once in bottle. The entire Chapman family strongly endorse the philosophy that only a healthy soil will nourish the vineyard and produce beautiful fruit which, in turn, can be crafted into high quality, distinctive organic wine. The vineyard is certified organic by BioGro, following a conversion that began in 2011. Official recognition of their organic status was achieved in March 2014. Vines planted include Pinot Noir, Syrah, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc with small recent plantings of Albarino and a variety often encountered in Austria, St. Laurent. All wines are crafted under the ever-watchful eye of winemaker Gavin Tait.

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