A bright fruited, expressive nose with notes of dark cherry, juniper berry and fine burnished leather, yet with a subtle hint of roses. Savoury touches add complexity to the svelte palate and the taste is firm and alert with a lively mineral edge to balance. To soften the mouth feel this wine has been fined with Millton's own free-range egg whites, the yokes going in to the kitchen for other culinary use.

‘La Cote’ is a section of the Clos de Ste Anne vineyard, situated on steep northeast facing slopes in the foothills of Poverty Bay. ‘La Cote’ is home to a collection of modern Pinot Noir clones and like all the Millton vineyards are dry farmed and have been cultivated biodynamically since 1989. Certified biodynamic with Demeter NZ and Certified Organic with BioGro NZ.

James Millton looks to the old world for inspiration with Pinot Noir. “I don’t want a big fruit bomb nor a dark wine with blocky oak tannin. I want delicacy and a subtle memory that is balanced with fine aromatic foods of flavour” he states.

The hand harvested and sorted fruit was chilled, de-stemmed and fermented, using indigenous yeasts, in small wooden cuves made from French Oak.

Cellaring potential five years from the date of release. Suitable for vegetarian consumption.