Wines By Mt Difficulty

Mt Difficulty Pinot Gris 2012

Central Otago

Available by the case dozen only

Mt Difficulty really is a boutique estate, situated in the unique aspects of Bannockburn, an area of terrestrial and climactic extremes. Mt Difficulty has harnessed the once brutal terrain to create wines at the forefront of Central Otago's production. The brand started in 1998 with very small, but exceptional quality, quantities. Previously their grapes were included in many top performing brands. The joint venture, founded by some of Central Otago's most devoted and skillful growers, has grown into a leading winery, proselytizing devotees everywhere.

$2999each

$357DOZEN

EACH

DOZEN

Mt Difficulty are sourced from resplendent sites at Bannockburn, south of the Kawarau River, under the close scrutiny of the Mt Difficulty management team. An assemblage of fruit from five estate vineyards, Templars Hill, Long Gully, Bannockburn Bay, Ferris and Lytefoot, Swansong and Pipeclay Terrace. Grapes are hand harvested in top condition and processed in a reductive manner, the juices settled overnight and racked slightly cloudy the following morning. A cool fermentation maximizes varietal charm. All components remain four months on gross yeast lees whilst being treated to a weekly stirring, enhancing the complexity and textural aspects of the final wine. Alcohol 14.0%


Clear straw colour. Aromas of white peaches and blossom mingle with bosc pear. Palate displays luscious fruit in the same vein, while the middle palate is full and creamy, gossamer and well textured. Enriched by lees texture, kept in proportion by lithe acid, a rich, minerally, stone fruit driven finish.

Mt Difficulty Pinot Noir 2010

Central Otago

A fully endowed, exclusively Central Otago Pinot Noir, Mt Difficulty reflects the pre-eminence of low yields. Grapes are sourced from the south side of Kawarau River at Bannockburn, where different clonal parcels on the same block which can ripen together are handled as one, whilst independent lots are vinified separately. Exhibiting an excellent concentration of ripe dark fruits mingled with a touch of red berries and splash of savoury spice. A deeply structured Otago Pinot, fleshy and well textured, finishing with a lovely extraction of tannin and fruit.

$4499each

$537DOZEN

EACH

DOZEN

An assemblage of early plantings, predominantly Pinot Noir clones 5, 6 and 10/5% More recent plantings are a mix of Dijon clones 113, 115, 667 & 777. Bunches are crushed and the must cold macerated for nine days while being treated to a daily hand plunge. Ferments are heated and vinified to indigenous yeasts for seven or eight days while being hand plunged thrice daily at 33°C. The wine remains on skins for a week post dryness, plunged once or twice daily with increasing ease. When the wine achieves harmony it's pressed off to barrel on full lees for twelve months, followed by malolactic in the spring, racked out of barrel in mid spring and filtered prior to bottling. Alcohol 14.0%

Attractive, deep and dark, clear burgundy coloured. Dark fruits of the forest dominate the aroma, underpinned by lifted florals and black cherry, balanced with sweet aromatic spice notes. A ripe concentrated front palate, with fruit in abundance. The mid palate is fleshy and well textured, finishing to a combination of ripe, fine grained tannin, fruit and acidity. Persistent and vibrant, juicy and fresh, Mt Difficulty is not a big heavy wine, it has balance and considerable finesse, finishing dry and stalky with excellent length of flavour.

Mt Difficulty Roaring Meg Pinot Gris 2012

Central Otago

Mt Difficulty is one of the most respected wineries in Central Otago and retains access to some of the oldest vineyards in the region. Sites that have been earmarked on the basis of soil, aspect and microclime are managed by the most dedicated growers to yield the South Island's finest vintages of Pinot Gris.

$1999each

$237DOZEN

EACH

DOZEN

Pinot Gris grapes grown to good sites in the Cromwell basin of Central Otago are hand harvested in top condition, processed in a reductive manner, the juices settled overnight and racked clean the following morning. Inoculated and vinified at cooler temperatures to maximise varietal character. Essential to the character of wine is a diversity of terroirs and microclimes around the source vineyards. The nature of soils being of particular interest, assembling parcels with the greatest synergy is central to the production of a Pinot Gris in fine balance. Mt Difficulty was stop fermented in an off-dry style to provide some palate weight and texture. Treated to a light fining with isinglass before filtration and bottling.


Mellow, creamy light straw colour. Vibrant aromatics, reminiscent of a fruit cocktail full of white pear, passionfruit and melon. On the palate this is duplicated with lovely rich flavours, a textured mid palate and pleasantly off dry finish. The wine of choice for grilled spatchcock seasoned with coriander and thyme.

Mt Difficulty Roaring Meg Pinot Noir 2011

Central Otago

A multi award winning Pinot Noir, Roaring Meg is the enthusiastic younger sibling to Central Otago's exalted Mt Difficulty label, a fully accessible wine with opulence and panache. Crafted to a fruit forward style from hand picked vineyards throughout the Cromwell basin. Even in it's youth, Roaring Meg is fashioned to exhibit serious spice characters and concentrated fruit flavours.

$2799each

$333DOZEN

EACH

DOZEN

Pinot Noir is harvested from Central Otago vineyards selected on the basis of intense varietal fruit. Bunches are all de-stemmed to enhance and preserve the unique character of fine Otago Pinot Noir. Grapes are vinified over a course of twenty four days with temperatures peaking 30°C to 32°C. Batches are plunged or turned over once daily during maceration and three times daily throughout the ferment. When the wine achieves harmony and balance it is pressed to French oak barrels where it sits on lees for ten months. Roaring Meg completes malolactic in early spring, is racked out of barrel in early summer and treated to a light egg white fining prior to filtration and bottling. Alcohol 14.0%

Deep ruby colour. A meaty wine with a seductive entry, vibrant and fruit filled with a perfumed intensity. A lovely mix of red and black berries with beguiling complexity and fine integration gained from the spiced, aromatic oak. A luscious ripe, sweet presence which displays juicy cherry, bramble and fleshy berry characters in abundance. A persistence of sensual fruit with raspberry ripple creaminess and a savoury bite. Tannins rise gracefully out of the middle palate, in fine balance with the wine's acidity and fruit, to produce a long fruit driven finish.

From vineyards established early in the winemaking traditions of Central Otago, as handled by owner operators who are amongst the region's most passionate

Mt Difficulty owns some of the oldest vineyards and is one of most respected wineries in the Central Otago region of New Zealand's rugged South Island. The joint venture company, founded by some of Central Otago's most devoted and skillful growers, has grown into a leading New Zealand boutique winery with export markets everywhere.

Mt Difficulty really is a boutique estate, situated in Bannockburn, a unique and rare area of extremes. Mt Difficulty has harnessed the once brutal terrain to produce premium wines at the forefront of Central Otago's wine production. The Bannockburn area is internationally recognized as one of the few places in the world where the pernickety Pinot noir variety has found a home outside Burgundy. Martinborough in the North Island and USA's Oregon are the only other regions where Pinot noir seems to flourish.

The estate's vineyards are owned and operated by the same people who started up and own the Mt Difficulty winemaking operations. The Mt Difficulty brand started in 1998 with a very small production of Pinot noir and Chardonnay. Previously their grapes were included in many top-performing wines from other Central Otago wineries. The inaugural Pinot noir went on to win a Gold medal at the 1999 Air New Zealand wine awards, the Chardonnay attaining Silver. This was a great result for a startup winery and showed to the world the potential of Central Otago for these varieties.

The unique microclimate of the Bannockburn area provides hot summers, a large diurnal temperature variation and long cool autumns which bring the best out of the Pinot noir grapes. This, along with a mix of clays and gravels ideal for viticulture, provides an excellent basis not only for Pinot noir, but also for Pinot gris, Riesling, and Chardonnay. Mt Difficulty was named after the mountain over-looking Felton Road and the southern Cromwell basin. This mountain is a very important part of the Bannockburn microclimate providing shelter from the cool winds of the Wakatipu Basin and Gibbston.

All wines that carry the Mt Difficulty label are subject to two strict criteria: they have to be sourced from vineyards situated in a very specific area – Bannockburn, south of the Kawarau River – and they are to be under the umbrella of the Mt Difficulty management team. The very special qualities for growing grapes and the management of the vineyard is reflected in the quality of the ultimate product.

The area of Mt Difficulty has undergone enormous transformations prior to ever becoming a vineyard. Of all the sites chosen to be a vineyard, Templars Hill was the most woebegone and unlikely: a rabbit infested, gullied and briar covered wasteland that took a lot of work to get into shape to become a vineyard. To ensure the full potential of the region is realized, the winemaking team have a policy of very low cropping levels across all vineyards. Most of the vines are relatively old for Central Otago, extremely valuable in adding extra complexity and concentration to Pinot noir. In early 2001 Mt Difficulty commissioned a brand new, state of the art winery amidst estate vineyards on Felton Road. The winery was specially designed to produce hand made Pinot noir, along with separate facilities for other varieties such as a specific barrel hall for Chardonnay. This facility, along with the expertise of winemaker Matt Dicey, translates the outstanding quality of the grapes into equally outstanding wine.

http://www.mtdifficulty.co.nz/ - Mt Difficulty

An element of particular interest to is the nature of the soils. The diversity and complexity are essential elements that go toward the production of a well-balanced wine. Not least of these elements are the actual soils that the vines grow in. Mt Difficulty wines are made from grapes that have been grown on a wide variety of soils. One feature common to all vineyard soils is the high pH level, this is a situation that is tailor-made for grapes grown to sweet soils to yield the best wines.

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