2021 Burn Cottage, `Sauvage Vineyard` Central Otago Pinot Noir - Liberty

Burn Cottage was founded in 2002 by Marquis Sauvage and Ted Lemon of Sonoma Coast’s famous Littorai estate. What was once a sheep paddock was transformed into one of Central Otago’s finest Pinot Noir sites, earning Burn Cottage its reputation as one of the top producers in the region. Today, Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate) describes them as “a superstar producer—an asset for the region and indeed the country (and the New World in general).”

To identify the best sites, Ted and Marquis dug 60 soil pits to determine which Pinot Noir clones would suit which soil types. They selected ten clones to plant on five different rootstocks tailored to each soil profile. Burn Cottage is distinguished in Central Otago as the first and only estate in the region to have practised biodynamics since day one. This was Ted Lemon’s one stipulation for his involvement.

In 2010, Claire Mulholland became Burn Cottage’s winemaker, working closely with Ted Lemon. A Central Otago native, born and raised on her family’s farm in Maniototo, Claire has a wealth of experience worldwide, including stints at Domaine De L’Arlot and Domaine Dujac in Burgundy. Over the last 14 years, Claire and her team have continued to build Burn Cottage’s excellent reputation. Winemaking at Burn Cottage is best described as ‘minimal intervention’. Indigenous yeasts are utilised for fermentations, with minimal sulphur use and no filtration before bottling.

The ‘Moonlight Race’ Pinot Noir is named after a water pathway, or ‘race’, that passes through the property. The grapes are sourced from Burn Cottage’s two estate vineyards. Aged in French oak barrels for 12 months before release, the resulting wine is meant for earlier drinking. ‘Burn Cottage Vineyard’ Pinot Noir is sourced from carefully selected blocks and clones on the eponymous site and will develop beautifully with age. In 2018, Burn Cottage purchased the ‘Sauvage Vineyard’, which comprises 5.8 hectares of Pinot Noir located in Bannockburn on the northeast side of Felton Road. The soils at the Sauvage site are Bannockburn series, classified as “deep silt loams” containing quartz, quartz sands and schist gravels. All three Pinot Noirs are created with whole-bunch fermentation, resulting in the lifted fragrance that makes them so enchanting.

Ted and Marquis found the aspect of one particular plot did not suit Pinot Noir, so instead they planted just over one hectare of Riesling and Grüner Veltliner, harvesting the first crop in 2014. Grapes for the ‘Burn Cottage Vineyard’ Riesling/Grüner Veltliner were vinified separately and aged for 11 months in old oak barriques before bottling. With attractive white peach, jasmine and zesty lime blossom aromas, this wine is rich on the palate with well-balanced, bright acidity.

In 2018, Burn Cottage purchased the ‘Sauvage Vineyard’, 5.8 hectares of Pinot Noir located in Bannockburn on the north-east side of Felton Road. It was planted in 1999, with five clones on a variety of rootstocks. The soils at the Sauvage site are Bannockburn series, which are classified as “deep silt loams” containing quartz sands, along with quartz and schist gravels. This single vineyard is in transition to biodynamic farming.

The season began with a warm spring interrupted by the occasional cold weather patterns and frost scares. Changeable weather affected flowering in some blocks, resulting in smaller yields. Throughout the season the vines enjoyed a high diurnal range and some well timed rain in January provided some relief from the warm summer. From February the conditions settled with warm and dry conditions prevailing through to harvest which began on 25th March.

The winemaking at Burn Cottage reflects biodynamic principles with low intervention. There is no addition of yeast or bacteria for fermentation, sulphur use is minimal and there is no filtration before bottling. Fermentation of the Pinot Noir grapes lasted for 17 days with 7% kept as whole bunches. The wine was aged in oak barrels (a mixture of Damy, Mercurey and Sylvain), 18% of which were new.

On the nose, this wine is precise and perfumed with lovely aromatics of cherry, violets, and spices layered with hints of bramble and wet stones. The palate has wonderful finesse and fine tannins which extend through the long finish.