Total Production 78 cases. Organic. Sam Kim, Wine Orbit 97 points. Bob Campbell MW 96 points. James Suckling 95 points. Organic. The oak factor is dialed-up here and adds spicy, toasty aromas to the red-cherry, red-plum and blueberry aromas. It winds up and exudes such pure fruit with air. The palate has a very rich, intense and vividly defined feel with ripe red and dark-cherry flavors holding so pure at the finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. Screw cap.JS. Thomas Brothers Pinot Noir grows on our highest slopes, in limestone soils which impart a beautiful chalky tannin and finesse to the wines. The vines are naturally devigourated in the harsh, exposed conditions and produce succinct crops of concentrated, dense fruit. The topography of the block brings diversity of flavour profile with the bottoms of the block lighter in colour and fruitier while the top is more intense, with smaller berries, and riper flavours. Extensive leaf plucking and bunch thinning ensured balanced crop loads and even ripening. Our highest Pinot Noir block was hand picked in one day before a slow hand sort to grade the suitable bunches for fermentation. A small percentage of whole bunch was retained for tannin structure and integration of flavour. Wild fermentation with a month on skin was followed by a gentle pressing to French oak barrels where the wine aged for 15 months. During this time the subtle effects of barrel ageing have presented us with our finest single block barrels for blending and estate bottling without fining or filtration.
