Winstead Lot 7 Pinot Noir 2021

Deep black/red with sparkling crystal clarity. Black cherry with some dusty caramel and oak notes.
With four years of bottle age, the pimply awkwardness of adolescence has been left behind. The palate is warm, soft, smooth and velvety. Sweet cherry chocolate are the first sensations, followed by a building warmth through the mid palate and finishing long with the fine tannins and French oak lingering. Match this with roast duck or venison for a real treat.

The Lot 7 vineyard is located high on the hill (180 metres above sea level) overlooking the valley that leads from Chauncy Vale into the Bagdad Valley. The aspect is slightly East of North, making the most of the available sunlight. The soils are shallow clays overlying Carboniferous Shales, which lack fertility and organic matter. We have been working on lifting the organic matter level for many years to help with water retention during the summer months. We are slowly winning this battle using mulching, chook poo and 500. (A biodynamic preparation derived from cow poo, which introduces microbial organisms to the soil.)

This vineyard has been planted using a modified lyre trellising system which divides the canopy allowing maximum sunlight penetration, but we have found it makes spray penetration into the centre of the canopy difficult and so we need to be on the ball to ensure fungal disease control.

Neil Snare - owner, viticulturist and winemaker at Winstead vineyards in Bagdad (Southern Midlands) - is an early participant in the Tasmanian wine scene, planting his first vines in 1989.

We produces 2 distinct Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs. The "Lot 7" from our original plantings on the home block is a robust wine, with dark chocolate, plum, tobacco and cinnamon characters. Our "Lot 16" is from a newly planted vineyard a little further up the hill from the latest clones of Pinot to come into the country (114, 115 predominant). This wine is more delicate with forest floor, strawberry and nutmeg characters. The palate is zippy and fresh, with a firm dry finish.

Our whites are made using European influences to enhance the texture and mouthfeel. The ferments are long and slow, with the wines left on lees for several months adding a creaminess to their texture. The Sauvignon is barrel fermented to add to its complexity.

All Winstead wines have a formidable history of ageing well.