Muddy Water Pinot Noir

We just can't keep enough Pinot Noir in stock these days at Aroma Thyme Bistro. Well we just found a wonderful rich concentrated Pinot Noir from New Zealand. It comes in at a nice price on our list at $54. It is definitely a value pic for us in the Pinot Noir section of the wine list.


Just as our name reflects the place, our wines reflect our vineyards. Our vineyards are situated on sunny slopes above the Waipara Valley in North Canterbury, on the South Island of New Zealand. Protected from cool sea breezes by a range of coastal hills, the Waipara area has a climate distinct from the rest of Canterbury.

Reviews:

Michael Cooper, Buyer's Guide to NZ Wines, 2007: The 2004 Vintage was fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured for a year in French oak barriques. It's a ruby-hued, sturdy wine (14.5% alcohol), earthy, with ripe flavours of cherries, plums and spices, some rustic notes and a well-rounded finish.

100 Top New Releases, February 2007: 97Points,*****stars, Muddy Water's flagship pinot is a selection of fruit from the best area of its vineyard. The flavours linger tantalisingly long after this wine of subtle power has been swallowed. lovely red cherry and spice with a classy oak influence.

Corney & Barrow Tasting, October 10 2006, Roger Jones from Wiltshire wrote:
New Zealand - an outstanding Pinot Noir 2004 from Muddy Water a real class act.

Keith Stewart, 12 August 2006, Darkish red in colour. Lovely nose is aromatically fruity at heart, but its freshness is moderated by a warmer, more earthy glow of fresh game. Lovely cool, clear, fruit infused impact is long and elegant, building layer on layer of warm game and cool, pure fruit. Mid palate depth is good, and the freshness of fruit makes a comeback towards the end, before a warm earthiness takes over and leaves a telling mark of conviviality on the finish. A Beauty. Drink from: 2007 to 2011.

Winestate Magazine, July/August 2006, ***1/2 stars, Good colour, some depth to the fruit and feeling past the primary fruit stage although still developing.

Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine, June/July 2006, 87 Points, **** stars, This is a dense, stylish pinot noir with a lovely silken texture. Seductively sweet fruit flavours are beautifully integrated into classy spicy oak. It's an understated style that is currently showing plenty of promise.

Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine, June/July 2006, "Muddy Water" is the English translation of Waipara, but there's nothing muddy about the bright, focused flavours of the pinot noir here. I like the wines as much as the unorthodox labels that sometimes appear under names such as Mojo or Reloaded "because one batch of the wine tasted different."

New Zealand Wine Fair in Sydney, February 28 2006, Black cherries on the nose. Focused and powerful with excellent concentration. Lovely fruit definition with black cherries and red fruits. Needs 2 years to open uo. Well made wine with good balance. Belinda Gould is destined to become a Waipara Legend. 92pts

Winemaker's notes


Harvest: 19 lots, hand harvested between March 29 and April 23rd, 2004. Selected fruit only. Destemmed into small open top fermenters.

Brix: 23-26 TA: 6.7 – 9.9g/l pH: 3.16– 3.47
Yield: 6.1T/ha (2.44T/ac)
Cellar & Bottling: Pre fermentation cold soak for one to six days. Manual cap management. Total time on skins 11 -20 days. Pressed, racked to barrels, 30% new french oak. Full malolactic in barrel. Barrel aged on lees for ten months before racking. Racked back to barrels and aged for a further four months before racking, blending and bottling.
Bottled on August 8th, 2005
RS: <2 g/L TA: 5.7g/L pH: 3.55 Alcohol: 14.5%
The wine: Our vineyard work is aimed at managing the canopies and crop levels to give us the best possible fruit. Our future vineyards are being planted with a range of different clones at closer spacings to increase complexity and concentration. The 2003 - 2004 growing season in North Canterbury was warm and dry in the spring and early summer resulting in an excellent fruit set. There was considerable rain during late January and February which, along with the abundant crop, necessitated more vineyard work than usual as we thinned fruit and removed leaves. The quality of this wine is directly related to the efforts of our vineyard workers.
We rarely move our wine and when possible movements are by gravity or pressure to reduce the effect of pumping. Bottled with screw caps to ensure the wine is in the best condition when you drink it. For more on screw caps and cork taint see www.screwcap.co.nz or www.corkwatch.com