Marchand & Burch Villages Pinot Noir

Bright, translucent ruby in the glass, this elegant and energetic Pinot Noir shines due to elevated floral and red fruited notes. Savoury earthy and spicy tones mingle with red cherry, raspberry, rosemary, hibiscus, vanilla, and potpourri on the nose. Soft, silky tannins
gather towards the front of the palate giving way to a smooth texture and rich fruited mid-palate. A lively, lingering acidity points to this wine’s cool climate origin. Impressions of red berries and floral tones remain on the palate forming a pleasant and dry finish.

The Marchand & Burch Villages Pinot Noir is sourced from the Mount Barrow vineyard
located in the eastern, elevated end of the Mount Barker sub-region. Planting commenced
in 2005 and is dedicated to growing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for still and sparkling wine. The unique attributes of this site include an elevation of 380M and a panorama of vineyard aspects from north to south facing. Planted to clones 114, 115, 777 as well as some experimental clones, the J and K blocks sit on a south facing exposed slope, at the
lowest elevations of the vineyard. These blocks are the youngest plantings of Pinot Noir
on the Mount Barrow vineyard. Soils are some of the most ancient on the planet and as such are shallow, relatively fertile and of light structure.

All batches are handpicked and cooled in vented crates beforehand sorting and destemming to small rectangular open fermenters. Approximately 15 to 20% of whole bunches are included in the fermentation. Gentle pneumatic plunging throughout the fermentation allows for optimum extraction of flavour, colour and tannin. One puncheon per fermenter is run off at 4o baume to complete the fermentation in new oak. Between dryness and 7 days of maceration each batch is basket pressed to French oak puncheons (500lt) ~ 40% is new. The separate parcels are matured on lees, in the oak for 6 to 9 months before settling in tank. After blending, the wine receives minimal fining and no filtration before bottling.

Drinking now and over the next 2 to 3 years.