2021 Josh Cooper Ray-Monde Vineyard Pinot Noir

Ray-Monde vineyard is a sustainably run farm that sits on the southern edge of the Macedon Ranges in South Gisborne at 400m above sea level. It’s run by the Lakey family who rear cattle and chickens with a strong emphasis on biodiversity and re-vegetation. The pinot noir that Joshua so proudly buys from the Lakey family was planted in 1988 and faces north-east.

After picking the whole lot was transferred as whole clusters to an open fermenter and allowed to stay there until fermentation commenced, then some gentle pour overs and plunging began. The wine was then pressed after three weeks to a mixture of old oak to stay on lees for a year. Followed by a few final months in stainless steel before bottling. This wine is unfined and unfiltered and a small amount of sulphur was added at bottling.

“Ray-Monde is filled with the aromas and flavours of black cherry, kirsch, violet, spice,
sweet damp earth and peat. Medium bodied with long, fine, silky tannin it is a very “gourmand” wine. Approachable in youth due to the beautiful balance, the tannic presence and quality suggest it should also age gracefully, gaining additional complexity along the journey.” - Joshua Cooper