Astrolabe Sleepers Kēkerengū Coast
Pinot Noir
2019
The pinot noir at Sleepers Vineyard, on the Kēkerengū Coast, is our most unique. The limestone soil provides minerality, and the cooler climate has a profound effect. Vintage variation is more dramatic at this site, with some vintages showing violet florals and others dried rose petal. The fruit is always lifted, delicate and mineral, with flavours of dried herb, leather, pomegranate, sweet ripe fruit or earthy wild truffles, which grow in the roots of the trees that surround the vineyard.
The winemaking process for my Sleepers Pinot Noir follows time-honoured methods. The fruit was picked by hand and fermented in small open-top vats using the wild vineyard yeast with hand plunging of the cap. The wine was allowed to undergo natural malolactic fermentation, and it spends two winters aging in French oak.
Simon Waghorn — Winemaker
TASTING NOTES
COLOUR/APPEARANCE
Bright garnet.
AROMA/BOUQUET
Floral notes of violet, alongside cherry, bay leaf, cinnamon and star anise.
PALATE
Energetic and vibrant, with red cherry and pomegranate, fine-grained tannin and a long, chalky, mineral finish.
AGING POTENTIAL
This wine should cellar well, for at least six years.
FOOD PAIRING
Peking duck, game fowl, grilled tuna, truffle and smoky barbecue pork.
PINOT NOIR SERVING TEMPERATURE
Cool room temperature.
2019 vintage
94 POINTS
"Seductive perfumes of light red berries and flowers, red plum and cherry, mild toasty barrel spices of cinnamon, cedar and vanilla. Complex, youthful, tense, dry and textured on the palate. A lighter weighted wine on the palate where fruit and spice flavours reflect the bouquet with fine tannins and acidity adding texture, weight and mouthfeel. There’s a fine saline, savoury and mineral stones complexity adding intrigue and lengthy, complexity and finesse. A lovely wine drinking well now and through 2027+."
-
Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier
4 STARS
“The 2019 vintage was grown on the Kekerengu Coast, hand-harvested and matured for 10 months in French oak barrels (25 per cent new). A very distinctive red, it is full-coloured andfragrant, with concentrated, vigorous plum/spice flavours, a strong herbal thread, and fresh acidity.”
-
Michael Cooper
New Zealand Wines: Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide 2021
2016 vintage
94 POINTS
“From the cool coastal climate and limestone-laced soils of the Kekerengu Coast. Sleek and spicy pinot noir with bright, racy violet, cherry, saline-mineral and spicy oak flavours. A vibrant, elegant wine with personality and poise.” DEC 19
-
Bob Campbell, Master of Wine
The Real Review © The Real Review
93 POINTS
"Toasty, smoky, fruity, varietal and spicy with oak. Aromas of ripe red berry fruits of cherry and raspberry, clove, vanilla and toasty oak. Delicious on the palate with a mix of savoury whole bunch-like flavours, dark cherry and wood spice blends. Fine to firm(ish) youthful tannins and balanced acid line. Quite lengthy with a warming alcohol note. Still young and an easy wine choice for the cellar. Decant for service and enjoy with food. Best drinking 2020 through 2026." DEC 18
-
Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier
Sustainably certified SWNZ