This is the second release of Pyramid Valley’s Snake’s Tongue Pinot Noir from the estate’s impressive Mānatu vineyard, located in the Lowburn sub-region of Central Otago. Planted in the mid-2000s by Jean and Roger Gibson, the former Lowburn Ferry property sits on a gentle, north-facing slope in the foothills of the Pisa Ranges. A key trait of the site is its soils: loess over deep silts that have developed pedogenic lime deposits. With high pH and suitability for growing world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, these soils proved the main drawcard for winemaker Huw Kinch, viticulturist Nick Paulin and owner Steve Smith MW.
The 10.2-hectare property is home to a patchwork of Pinot Noir clones—Abel, 667, 777, 114, 115, 943, 828, 115 and clone 5—playing into Kinch’s preference for clonal mix in the vineyard and the winery. The Snake’s Tongue block is a 1.9-hectare plot in the southeast corner of the vineyard, with this release drawn from a 0.7-hectare parcel of Abel clone planted in 2007. (The remaining 1.2 hectares comprises new high-density vines—clones 828, 943 and 115—planted in 2018/2019.)
In contrast to the Pinot fruit from the cooler Waikari property (Earth Smoke and Angel Flower), Mānatu’s Pinot Noir sees more sunshine. It has a core of power and intensity not found in the more delicate and restrained northern fruit. Kinch uses whole bunches and new oak in the Mānatu wines to harness this inherent power, techniques he tells us would overpower the Waikari wines—yet another example of his thoughtful, site-based approach.
Fermented in an open-top concrete tulip, with 33% whole bunches and as much whole berry as possible, the wine matured in 30% new French barrels for 12 months, followed by a further six months in neutral oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. We needn’t add anything to the Bennie and Brookes notes below, but it’s hard to resist piling on the praise for this seductive, deeply cast, full-throttle Pinot Noir. There’s plenty to love now, but the bold flavour and structure will stand this in good stead for years to come, should you have the patience. A wine of pure, hedonistic pleasure.