Lightfoot & Sons Myrtle Point Pinot Noir 2016 has a bouquet of bright cherry and plum fruit character layered with earthy, savoury elements and a fine tannin structure. Classic Gippsland Pinot Noir.
“Estate-grown MV6 planted '97, eight picking days 4-25 Mar, the majority de-stemmed, open-fermented with cultured yeast, 15% fermented with 30% whole bunches to allow some carbonic maceration, matured in new and used French oak, bottled unfiltered. This complex vinification has resulted in a very complex pinot, with red and purple fruits, abundant spices and savoury/earthy fine-grained tannins. This in turn leads to good length and texture.” 94 Points - James Halliday, 2018 Wine Companion.
“This Gippsland vineyard clearly grows good pinot noir. The complexity is there. It just needs time to build and grow and mature. Spices, beetroot, rhubarb, sweet cherries, orange peel and cranberry. If you cast a wide net you’ll reel in a wide variety of flavours and scents. Plenty of tang. Assorted goings on. It’s like flicking through a pinot diary.” 91+ Points - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, April 2017
Lightfoot & Sons Myrtle Point Pinot Noir is made exclusively from grapes grown by the Lightfoot family on their Myrtle Point Vineyard in the Gippsland Lakes District. Located in far eastern Victoria, between the Great Dividing Range and Bass Straight, the Gippsland Lakes District enjoys a cool, semi-maritime climate. Soil structure of the Myrtle Point vineyard is Terra Rosa over limestone.
2016 was the kind of year Viticulturists hope for every year. Plenty of winter rain ensured the soil moisture profile was fully topped up leading into spring thus allowing the vines to make the most of the mild conditions spring provided. Unusually calm conditions wind wise allowed the shoots to grow as they pleased, as well as providing excellent conditions for flowering. The mild stable weather led to the vines setting a slightly larger than average crop of even sized bunches. The usual Shoot-thinning, positioning and trimming occurred throughout the spring and into early summer. The post-Christmas, late summer weather did its bit and gave plenty of sunshine, minimal rain and no major heat events, which led to a nice slow ripening period. This slow ripening led to good acid retention in the fruit, which maintained a beautiful fruit profile up until and during the harvest beginning on Friday the 4th of March, approximately one week ahead of our normal dates.
The 2016 Pinot Noir harvest began on Friday the 4th of March, and continued until Friday the 25th of March. This considerable timeframe shows the difference within the Vineyard blocks during the 2016 vintage and our evolving understanding of the Myrtle Point vineyard. Harvest Baume’s ranged between 12.5 and 13.0. The majority of grapes were de-stemmed into open fermenters and inoculated with yeast. A portion (approximately 15% of total fruit) was fermented with the inclusion of 30% whole clusters, to allow for some Carbonic Maceration and added structure and complexity in the finished wine. All ferments were hand plunged twice to three time daily. Once primary fermentation was complete, wine was pressed to a mixture of new (15%) and seasoned French Oak barrels for Malo-lactic fermentation and maturation. Coopers used were Sirugue, Damy, St. Martin, Bossuet and Mercurey. Wine remained in barrels un-disturbed until being racked out for blending. Wine was bottled unfiltered. Winery Notes
