2018 The Hermit Ram ‘Limestone Hills’ Pinot Noir Cult Wine

“This wine is the first produced under The Hermit Ram label. It comes from Gareth Renowden’s tiny, super close planted vineyard deep in the Waipara Gorge. It is an intriguing site. The soil is made up of limestone rocks and clay marl. It has high active lime through the profile. The fruit is farmed naturally with no synthetic sprays. It is picked quite late as the site is amongst the coolest in North Canterbury. The combination of the lateness of this site and the beautiful active limestone soils creates a wine that  is delicate, saline, and other worldly. The fruit is 100% destemmed to vat. Only indigenous yeasts are used. The fermentation is carried out over 6 weeks on skins. The extractions are very gentle in order to promote the ultra-delicate aromas this wine has. The wine is matured and undergoes natural malolactic in ancient hogsheads and is bottled unfined and unfiltered after the next vintage. 30 ppm SO2 Total. This wine is aromatically very complex. The aromas are less about fruit but more about limestone, salinity and truffles. Very autumnal. The palate is lithe a layered.It will continue to unfold in the glass to give a hugely rewarding drinking experience.”