2021 Pinot Noir - Grimsby Hillside Vineyard

Grimsby Hillside Vineyard is located only 800 metres from Leaning Post, its terroir is nonetheless very different from our own. This vineyard is perfectly suited to Pinot Noir and combined with mature (20 year-old) vines creates wines of elegance, power and age worthiness. A moderate spring was followed by a warm, but rainy growing season making 2021 a tricky vintage. Nonetheless, our little bit of Niagara in Grimsby/Winona continues to impress! We were able to harvest beautiful fruit that achieved full phenolic ripeness without losing acidity or freshness. Hand-picked and hand-sorted on September 28 th, the grapes were partly de-stemmed (85% destemmed, 15% whole-cluster), partially crushed and left to soak on skins prior to fermentation. After 3 days, fermentation occurred spontaneously in small open-top fermenters. During fermentation, the skins were punched-down by hand 2 times per day. Once fermentation was finished, the wine remained on skins for 5 days before being gently pressed. It was then transferred to French oak barrels (25% new, 25% 1-year-old, 50% older) and aged for 15 months.