Churton Natural State Pinot Noir 2022

Churton is a 50 hectare farm in the southern hills of Marlborough, about half of which is now under vine. Sam and Mandy Weaver are Churton’s founders, and long before it was fashionable, they approached the farm and the vineyard with strong ecological values. The vineyard has been organic since the beginning in 1997, and is managed with biodynamic principles.

They produce hand-harvested Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir as well as small quantities of Viognier and Petit Manseng. They focus on these four grape varieties, as they believe they are best suited to the undulating hillside vineyard with its north-east aspect, clay soils and specific microclimate.

Their wine making is based on minimal intervention, and patience. All wines undergo a slow, natural fermentation before resting on lees and spending time in bottle.

The fruit was sourced from the organically farmed Clod Block of Churton's Waihopai Valley vineyard, planted in 2000. Grapes were hand-harvested and de-stemmed. Fermentation occurred spontaneously with indigenous yeasts present on the grape skins, after which the must underwent a 14-day maceration period on skins, facilitating gentle extraction of colour, flavour, and tannins. Post-fermentation, the wine was transferred into neutral French oak barrels for 3 months before bottling without fining or filtration.