Yealands Estate Release Three Reds With A Conscience

Following an outstanding second vintage, New Zealand’s leading sustainable winery has launched its first ever Pinot Noir under its premium ‘Yealands Estate’ label.

Winemaker Tamra Washington says the Yealands Estate Pinot Noir 2009 is a great expression of Awatere Pinot Noir, made in a fine, elegant style.

“The fruit was sourced from a river terrace in the Awatere Valley where it is exposed to some of the toughest growing conditions in Marlborough. The wine spent 12 months in a mixture of new and old French barriques and displays violet, red berry and spice characters, complemented by silky tannins and a long savoury finish. These characters make it an ideal match with gamey, lighter meats such as lamb, duck and venison,” says Tamra.

The launch coincides with the much anticipated second vintage Pete’s Shed Pinot Noir 2009 from Central Otago and the ever popular Pete’s Shed Tempranillo 2009.

“The Tempranillo has a similar flavour profile to the popular 2008 vintage with intense dark prune, tamarillo and fig characters, but has more body and concentration. The Central Otago Pinot Noir is well structured with lashings of dark fruit, lovely soft tannins and good weight, offering excellent value at $24.90,” says Tamra.

“These new reds are just in time for winter and I’m thrilled with the quality and flavour profile of all the wines. With cooler evenings and shorter days upon us, it’s the ideal time to move to lighter reds such as these.”

In keeping with Yealands’ philosophy, the wines have been crafted from small parcels of carefully selected fruit that have been nurtured from the ground up with environmentally sustainable practices and produced in their leading edge carboNZeroCertTM certified winery.

“These wines reflect our aim of becoming the most sustainable wine grower in the world, creating premium wines of intensity and purity, in complete harmony with the environment,” says Peter Yealands.

Yealands Estate Pinot Noir is available in Glengarry and other fine wine and retail liquor stores for a recommended retail price of $29.90. Pete’s Shed Tempranillo 2009 and Pete’s Shed Pinot Noir 2009 are available in limited quantities and can be purchased from selected wine retailers and leading restaurants and bars. They both have a recommended retail price of $24.90.

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Tasting Notes:

Yealands Estate Pinot Noir 2009, RRP $29.90
This wine has lifted aromas of violets, red berries and spice, with notes of plum fruit on the palate complemented by silky tannins and a long savoury finish.
Food match: game such as duck and venison or lighter meats such as lamb.

Pete’s Shed Pinot Noir 2009, RRP $24.90
Delivering aromas of bramble and spice plus ripe dark fruit that lingers on the warm rich palate, this is a well structured wine with great length of flavour, texture and tannins.
Food match: winter fare, earthy flavours, autumnal fruit and creamy cheeses.

Pete’s Shed Tempranillo 2009, RRP $24.90
This elegant, aromatic wine brims with notes of tamarillo, tangy strawberry and spice. On the palate the bright red fruit flavours and integrated tannins deliver a soft finish.
Food Match: ideal with tapas, pizza or a wide variety of red meat dishes.

About Yealands Estate
Yealands Estate is New Zealand’s leading environmentally sustainable winery based in the Awatere Valley, Marlborough. Developed by entrepreneur Peter Yealands, the privately owned winery features advanced green technology in every aspect of design and function.

It received carboNZeroCertTM certification from Landcare Research in April 2009 and in doing so was the largest winery in New Zealand to achieve this status for its organisation and wine products.

A month later, it was awarded the category trophy for small to medium businesses at the ’EECA’ awards - the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Awards, held by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA). Yealands wines launched to great acclaim in August 2008, and have collected more than 140 awards to date, which goes to show that being green also means making a great drop. www.yealands.co.nz