Bird ~ Steve Bird Winery & Vineyards Ltd
Pinot Noir is without doubt the most temperamental of all grape varieties. Known affectionately by winemakers the world over as the heart break variety, it will punish those who attempt to grow it without considerable attention to site selection and management practices.
Pinot Noir is now New Zealand's most widely planted red wine variety and New Zealand's international reputation with this variety is growing at an astonishing rate.
The best vineyard sites for Pinot Noir contain free draining old stony soils with some clay content. These soils restrict vigour while giving some relief from water stress.
Intervention in the vineyards with the removal of shoots, clusters, and leaves is mandatory to ensure low yields and high quality.
Big Barrel Method
Acting as both a fermentation vessel and storage vessel these 900lt barrels provide a unique and sophisticated environment for the production of Pinot Noir.
They impart a high degree of complexity to the wine, facilitating seamless integration of the oak and generating excellent structure.
The "Big Barrels" allow for extremely gentle handling of the wine resulting in the preservation of even the most delicate flavours and aromas.
2008 Big Barrel Pinot Noir -Tasting Note:
Bright and lively with excellent concentration of red berry fruits and ripe red flesh plums. Hints of mushroom, forest floor and a fleeting glimpse of oak for complexity. A restrained wine with beautiful balance and harmony between flavour and structure.
Download 2008 tasting note (pdf)
2007 Big Barrel Pinot Noir -Tasting Note:
Full round and assertive, generously laced with dark ripe fruit. There are hints of earth, and spices on the palate. The structure is firm and masculine with ample tannins to create excellent mouth feel and provide a great platform for this wine to age for many years to come.
Down load 2007 tasting note (pdf)
2006 Big Barrel Pinot Noir -Tasting Note:
Complex, rich and seductive, this wine has loads of ripe berry fruit characters. There are hints of earth, chocolate, and dried fruits on the palate. The structure is soft and supple with velvety tannins carrying the flavour all the way to the back of the tongue.