The 2013 Mud House Single Vineyard Claim 431 Central Otago Pinot Noir has won Gold at the 2015 New Zealand Royal Easter Show Wine Awards, adding another feather in the cap of the Claim 431 Vineyard in Bendigo, Central Otago.

2013 was a fantastic vintage; fruit flavours were balanced, vibrant and pure with silky tannin, bright acidity and soft wood spice. This aided the typical Bendigo characters of perfumed wild berry with spice and complexity on the palate.

Group Winemaker, Ben Glover, believes the vineyard is beginning to come into its own, after being planted 12 years ago. “We are only now starting to understand this vineyard and the striking Bendigo sub-region. Time is spent with the fruit, to get a true expression of this incredible site. It’s not all about richness, there is a chalky definition coming into play which allures the senses – that’s exciting!”, Ben says.

Mud House Claim 431 Vineyard Manager, Tom Bullen, and his team are ecstatic with the result, with most of the team having been at Claim 431 since the initial planting over a decade ago.

“The quality of 2013 is a testament to the Claim 431 Vineyard team’s passion and dedication to producing high quality fruit. We are now looking forward to the 2015 vintage along with our next challenge, a new 8Ha development of Pinot Noir which was planted this spring on some fantastic Bendigo alluvial soils!”, Tom said.

The vineyard has a proud history of producing award winning wines, with the 2012 Claim 431 Pinot having taken the top Central Otago and top New Zealand trophies at the International Wine Challenge last year. The Pinot Noir from this vineyard has won a total of 41 Gold Medals and six trophies since its first vintage in 2006.

The 2014 Mud House Marlborough Pinot Gris was also received a gold medal at the 2015 New Zealand Royal Easter Wine Show.

Hannah Burns
PR, Communications and Events
22 Liverpool Street, Riverlands Estate, RD4 Marlborough
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https://accoladewines.com/