Mt Difficulty Single Vineyard Ghost Town, Bendigo, Syrah 2016 (Lion)

2016 GHOST TOWN BENDIGO, CENTRAL OTAGO SYRAH

TASTING NOTES SYRAH 2016 Ghost Town Syrah is handcrafted in very limited quantities and this is our inaugural release. Cassis, blackcurrant and sweet rose petal notes sit alongside

Elevation

340 – 382m

Aspect

North facing

Soil type

Clones

tannin, the finish marked with coffee-malt characters.

Vineyard management

CELLARING POTENTIAL

We expect Mt Difficulty Ghost Town Syrah to evolve with careful cellaring for another 7-15 years.

Alc. 15%

T/A 6.5 gL

pH 3.69

Residual Sugar <2 gL

Available June 2018

Vineyard planted

Massale Selection 2001

Size 2.16ha

First SV wine

Time in oak

GPS

Chave, &

Rootstock Own

cassia bark and spice elements in the background.

These same sweetly scented blackcurrant characters introduce the wine, followed closely with a touch of pepper bringing warmth. This flows into a lovely line of

Clyde Soils

2016 12 months 44.941S 1698.315E Sustainable

Irrigation Drip

GHOST TOWN BENDIGO

WINEMAKING

VINEYARD

CONSIDERATIONS

Ghost Town is comprised of Clyde Soils, formed from loess over gravels, schist, weathered greywacke, quartz and basalts. There is a reddish brown clay loam and pedogenic lime layer that feature in

This is our inaugural release of a Syrah from the Ghost Town vineyard. We harvested the Syrah late in the season on the 29th April. There are 8 different clonal combinations in the

the subsoils. Moderate slopes of 7-13 degrees. The vines for this vineyard were planted in 2001, so were 15 years of age in 2016.

Located in Bendigo on Chinamanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Terrace, once home to over

vineyard and these were all harvested together. There were three different ferments of Syrah, one was fully de-stemmed; the second contained 30% whole clusters; the third was 100% whole bunch. The must underwent 3-4 days of cold maceration, being

2000 Chinese miners during the 1860s and 70s, Ghost Town vineyard comprises of 13ha planted in mature Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris

hand plunged once daily. The ferments were heated after this and all three fermented with indigenous yeasts. The ferments

and Syrah. Bendigo potentially sees slightly warmer temperatures during the peak of the ripening period than Bannockburn, although harvest can be a week or so later than our Bannockburn

lasted for an average of 13-15 days during at which time they were hand plunged once to twice daily with the temperature peaking at 30°C. The wine stayed on skins for a further 7-9

vineyards due to the elevation of Ghost Town vineyard.

days post-dryness and was plunged occasionally with increasing ease. When the wine tasted in harmony it was pressed off to barrel where it resided on full lees for 12 months. It underwent malolactic fermentation in the spring, was racked out of barrel in late autumn and filtered but not fined prior to bottling.

73 Felton Road Bannockburn Central Otago +64 3 445 3445 cellar.door@mtdifficulty.nz

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