Rochford Wines

Rochford Macedon Ranges Reserve Pinot Noir

Vintage
2003

Varieties
100% Pinot Noir

Tasting Notes
Mid plum in colour and brilliant in clarity. The nose is fine with well-defined cool climate Pinot Noir characters of dark cherry, spice with hints of violets overlayed with savoury oak. One the palate the flavours are subtle yet well defined with and alluring mid palate richness that runs into a soft and silky finish. There is a seamless integration of acid and tannin and a great persistence of flavour.

Cellaring
4 to 6 years

Winemaking
When making Pinot Noir we try to keep things as simple as possible and let the vineyard characters do all of the talking. After de-stemming and chilling the fruit was cold soaked for 7 days before the addition of a pure yeast culture. The wine was fermented for a further 7 days. During the cold-soak period colour and flavour are extracted in a aqueous solution, while the extraction of hard tannins is avoided. At about 1 degree Baume two thirds of the wine was transferred to new oak barrels where it completed it's fermentation. This gives good integration of the new oak and provides additional complexity. The balance of the wine was pressed at dryness, settled for 2 to 3 days to remove large solids, and then racked into oak for malo lactic fermentation. After malo lactic fermentation the wine was left to settle, racked, then returned to oak for a further 12 months maturation. This wine is a selection of the best barrels from the best bocks. The wine has not been fined but did receive a light filtration prior to bottling.

Viticultural Notes
The 2002/2003 growing season was mild and dry. All fruit was hand picked with the four different clones being picked over a period of three weeks.

Technical Data
Alcohol 13.5%
pH 3.53
Titratable acidity 6.5 grams per litre
Residual sugar 0.2 grams per litre

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