2023 Scorpo Noirien Pinot Noir

Noirien was one of the synonyms, used in Brugundy, for Pinot Noir as far back as 1325. Grapes the the Noirien are 100% estate grown, hand-picked grown on the Merricks North vineyard. The fruit for the 2023 Noirien Pinot Noir was grown on two north-facing slopes on a property that we lease adjacent to the Scorpo Estate Vineyard in Merricks North. The cooler than average 2023 season resulted in each block being picked slightly later than average, despite their tiny yields, which varied from 2.3 to 3.3 tonnes/hectare (equivalent to about 1 tonne/acre across all blocks). Divided up into 4 parcels, the fruit was picked over 2 weeks, between March 11th and March 26th; three parcels were cold-soaked for several days prior to fermentation in open fermenters, whilst one parcel was fermented as whole bunches. After pressing, followed by 7 months of maturation in mostly older French oak barriques (11% new), all barriques were racked and blended, prior to bottling without filtration in early December, 2023.