Winemaker Notes
Black Estate is three organic & biodynamic vineyards in Waipara Valley, North Canterbury. Farmed by Pen Naish, Nicholas Brown, their family and staff, they wish to make wines that are true and express the unique character of their sites.
Damsteep vineyard is influenced by limestone and elevation. Rich sedimentary clays in Home vineyard produce wines with depth and texture, and Netherwood, with sandstone and mudstone is one of the oldest vineyards in the region. The three vineyards were planted in 1999, 1994 and 1986 respectively, on north facing hillsides 5km apart.
Winemaking is simple, to preserve the intrinsic character of the fruit. Hand-picked organic and biodynamic fruit is fermented with vineyard-derived yeast, the wine is unfined and unfiltered (except for the Riesling which is lightly filtered), and no inputs or additives are added except for minimal sulphur just at bottling. Small batch wines have no sulphur.
On the central eastern coast of the South Island, Canterbury includes a collection of small and varied subregions. The region is cool and dry with low rainfall and light, infertile soils. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are well-suited here, with Pinot Gris coming in third place.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”