Escarpment Vineyard – New releases of powerful single vineyard Pinot Noirs – Martinborough winemaker Tim Bourne unveils the 2022 vintage of four of New Zealand’s most significant single vineyard Pinot Noirs on Saturday 22 June, at Escarpment Vineyard in Te Muna Valley, Martinborough.
Four of New Zealand’s most iconic Pinot Noirs are being released from Escarpment Vineyard’s 2022 vintage on Saturday 22 June 2024.
The wines are Kupe, Pahi, Kiwa and Te Rehua and they represent the pinnacle of Pinot Noir at Escarpment Vineyard, which is situated in the Te Muna Valley, nine kilometres east of Martinborough village.
The wines have been made every year since their inaugural release in 2006. This is the third vintage that Bourne has made them at Escarpment’s new winery on the established Escarpment Vineyard site, which is home to the Kupe Vineyard. This year also heralds the first vintage in which three of the four single vineyard wines have all been made from vineyard sites in the Te Muna Valley.
“A lot of blood, sweat and tears (not literally) has gone into the production of these wines and we are thrilled to unveil them to our loyal fan base and to make them known further afield,” says Bourne, who also makes a range of other outstanding wines in Martinborough.
Escarpment Vineyard Winemaker tasting notes – 2022 Single Vineyard releases
2022 Escarpment Kupe RRP $115
Cool conditions led to an elegant vintage of with wines of purity and energy. The grapes in Kupe come from our home block vineyard on Te Muna Road and they are always handled with the utmost care to retain balance and complexity. This wine is made from 100% Abel clone Pinot Noir grapes, which were fermented with indigenous yeasts in open top fermenters and hand plunged once daily for a total vat time of 30 days. After pressing the wine was aged in 42% new French oak barriques for 20 months without racking, creating a silky wine with mouthfeel and structure. Bottled without fining or filtration, promoting purity and balance. Every priority was given to this wine during its elevation to show all the hallmarks of a grand young Pinot Noir on release.
2022 Escarpment Kiwa RRP $85
Fruit from an established vineyard on Te Muna Road. The combination of deep alluvial gravels, for which the Martinborough Terraces are known and loved, as well as these mature vines, both bring complexity and textural qualities to this wine. The fruit was picked over two days and destemmed to open top ferments with the inclusion of 43% whole bunches. The grapes were fermented with indigenous yeasts and hand plunged once daily for soft extraction with a total vat time of 27 days. After pressing, the wine was matured in 40% new French oak barriques for 20 months. It was bottled without fining or filtration. This promotes textural mouthfeel and balanced fruit complexities.
2022 Escarpment Te Rehua RRP $85
This vineyard has a very clear style expression evolving from a traditional planting approach. Geoff Bunny sourced as many clones of Pinot Noir that were available in 1992 and planted them at random on the 1.1ha site. Hand picked grapes were fermented in open top ferments with indigenous yeasts and 21% whole clusters. It was hand plunged once daily with a total vat time of 25 days. After pressing, the wine was matured in 43% new French oak barriques for 20 months then bottled without fining or filtration, promoting soft mouthfeel.
2022 Escarpment Pahi RRP $85
This is the third vintage of Pahi from the outstanding vineyard opposite our winery on Te Muna Road. This vineyard site is planted entirely with Pinot Noir and has a mix of clones 115, CI5 and Abel, which were picked over two days, fermented in open top cuves with indigenous yeasts and hand plunged once daily with total vat time of 28 days. The wine was pressed into French oak barriques (30% new oak) for 20 months then bottled without fining or filtration. This is an outstanding classic Martinborough Pinot Noir with a lifted fragrance of goji berry, anise, dried apricot, vanilla, red berries and spice. Cellar with confidence for up to 10 years.