James Suckling’s Top 100 Wines of New Zealand 2021
Complex aromas of blueberries, dried thyme, tea leaves, spices and some iodine. Its medium to full bodied with tight grained tannins and bright acidity. Lots of tension and energy. Tight mineral finish. Chunky. Try from 2022.
A more structured style of Pinot Noir when compared to the Framingham offering. A vineyard selection from sites generally in the southern part of the Wairau valley, where the soils have a little more clay and loam in them compared to the stony soils of our estate. More whole bunches, up to 25-30% depending on vintage conditions, are included. Fermentation and MLF occurs spontaneously, and the wine is left on skins for longer on average for Framingham. Elevage is in French oak barriques, 20% new, for around 14 months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. Harmless crystals may form in the bottle.
Grapes for 2019 F-Series Pinot Noir come from Dry Hills Lane in the southern part of the Wairau Valley at the foot of the Wither Hills. The soils here are dense clay. We lease this bock which has a variety of clones. Abel 60% Cln5 20% and 777 20% performed well in 2018 and make up the blend.
WINEMAKING
Hand-picked grapes were destemmed to red fermenters after a percentage of whole bunches (15%) were included
first. Musts were allowed to ferment spontaneously, plunged once a day then pressed after averaging 25 days
post fermentation maceration. Elevage was in French barriques for 14 months, around 20% of which were new.
We planted our first vines in the Wairau Valley in 1981, and we’ve been growing grapes and making wine by our own rules ever since. Taking the best of what we learn from the F-Series and incorporating it into the Framingham range, these full-flavoured wines embody subtle nuances, balanced minerality, and mouth-filling textures.
Nobodys Hero Launch Party was filmed in the Framingham Underground Space. A music video to celebrate individuals. Our winery band have covered the original Stiff Little Fingers version of Nobodys Hero.
