Charteris Hawkesbury Pinot Noir Central Otago 2018

With the fast and furious nature of the 2018 harvest we found a few new angles from which to view Pinot Noir in Central Otago. The warmer parts of the region producing plush and instantly approachable wines with the traditionally cooler sub regions holding their acidity and freshness.

This is our first Single Vineyard release from the Hawkesbury Vineyard just outside of Wanaka. Here, the western proximity to the alpine spine of the South Island and Lake Wanaka ensures a more temperate climate with overall cooler and later ripening conditions than the Cromwell basin.

Harvest one month earlier than usual for us meant we had to have our wits about us, and all the grapes were off and into the winery by early April. The warm early season also brought with it an abundance of fruit and I think we will look back at these wines with a fondness reminiscent of the glow that you feel at the end of a warm summers day.