Maker:
VALLI is the personal vocation of pioneering winemaker Grant Taylor. Grant’s name is synonymous with Otago Pinot Noir. He has been crafting wines there since 1993 when there were only 20 ha planted – today there are over 2000. Grant founded VALLI in 1998 with the intention to produce single vineyard Pinot Noirs highlighting the different characteristics of Otago’s sub regions. More than 20 years later, VALLI is doing just that, producing single-vineyard pinot noirs from Gibbston, Bannockburn, and Bendigo in Central Otago and the Waitaki Valley in North Otago, as well as a dry Pinot Gris from Gibbston and a Riesling from Waitaki. In 2015, established Otago winemaker Jen Parr joined Grant in the winery, where the two aim to create wines with honesty, integrity, and most of all, a sense of place. When you drink a Valli wine, you are enjoying more than just a wine: you are experiencing a place.
Vineyard:
Situated along Gibbston Highway in Gibbston, Central Otago. This vineyard enjoys a semi-continental climate at an altitude ranging from 343 to 352 meters. The site has a mix of Pinot Noir clones including 777, 115, UCD 5, and 114. The vineyard thrives in alluvial loess soil on firm river gravels and colluviums. With annual rainfall of approximately 452 mm. Vines were planted in 2000 yielding 5.0 tonnes per hectare with medium vine density of 4,040 per hectare.
Winestyle/Cuvee:
Winemaker of the Year (Gourmet Traveller 2020) Jen Parr includes 20% whole bunch and allows 23 days of maceration for the 2021 Gibbston Pinot Noir. There is 30% new oak for a peroid of 11 months, using a mix of Fraçois Frères, Ana Selection, and Mercurey cooperages. The wine undergoes no fining or filtering processes.
Winemaker Jen Parr describes it best "bright garnet hue with aromas of plum, mulled spices, rosemary, peppercorn, and graphite. The intense perfume flows onto the palate with more baking spices, dried florals, cedar, and dark red fruit. This vintage of Gibbston Pinot Noir is harmonious and inviting with a suppleness that lends great drinkability at a young age. The extremely small harvest from this site makes the wine a real treasure!"
Tasting Note:
Nose - Mulled Spices, Rosemary, Graphite
Aromas of plum, mulled spices, rosemary, peppercorn, and graphite.
Palate - Baking Spices, Dried Florals, Dark Red Fruit
The intense perfume flows onto the palate with more baking spices, dried florals, cedar, and dark red fruit.
Finish - Supple, Harmonious, Detailed
While delicate, there’s supple flesh on the palate, giving a sense of ripeness rather than edginess.
Deep ruby-red, moderate transparency, slightly lighter on edge. The nose is softly full and enticing with complex aromas of forest floor, crushed herbs, dried hibiscus enveloping delicate spice, cherry and plum. Medium-bodied, silky on the entry with concentration, scents of cherry and young plum entwined with crushed herbs, hibiscus, liquorice, forest floor and spice. The mouthfeel is supple and silky with fine powdery tannin, lightly veiling the palate; lacy, captivating acidity carries a very long, exquisite finish. The wine is harmonious, shows depth and complexity of delicate aromas, capturing the scent of Gibbston. Match with pigeon and truffle over the next 12+ years. Fruit from Gibbston Highway, fermented with 20% whole bunches, 13% alc, aged 11 months in French oak barrels, 30% new oak. 667 dozen produced. - Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Wine Reviews, 98 Points.
Two thousand twenty-one was the smallest Gibbston harvest ever for Valli, but what it made is worthwhile. As always, this 2021 Pinot Noir Gibbston Vineyard is balanced and refined. Long hang time in this cool district gives finesse and aromatic details. While delicate, there’s supple flesh on the palate, giving a sense of ripeness rather than edginess - Rebecca Gibb, Vinous Media.
The Finer Details
Style - Red Wine
Varietal - Pinot Noir
Country - New Zealand
Region - Central Otago
Vintage - 2021
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 13%
