We only make Prima Donna in the best years and 2009 was certainly one of these.  This was a splendid vintage in general and an exceptional one for pinot noir with perfect weather throughout the season.  Modest crops have given the wine excellent fruit expression.  This wine was made naturally using traditional Burgundian methods, with no added micro-organisms.  It was produced by blending the barriques which we felt best expressed our vineyard and the season.  Typically these come from vines over a quarter of a century old, which are on their own roots.
 
On release the wine has a vibrant crimson hue.  The unfolding aroma is multi-layered and complex, suggesting bright red fruits, blackberries, raspberries, black cherries and purple plums.  There are also savoury nuances reminiscent of roast meats and grilled mushrooms, intermingled with whiffs of wood-smoke.  The palate entry is seductively light but the wine seems to expand in the mouth to become rich and muscular, while retaining an even flow of velvety, but tangy, tannins.  These at the same time excite but soothe the taste buds and draw out the wine’s long lingering finish.  Although it will be enjoyed on release, with careful cellaring it should develop other fascinating nuances over the next decade and live well beyond this.

The season suited riesling with a summer that was not too hot and an Indian summer with seemingly endless warm, dry days.  Our vines, which are up to a quarter of a century in age, have roots that can penetrate deeply into the mineral rich, stony soil and allow this very individual terroir to express itself in the wine. 
 

On release the aromas and flavours suggest lemons, limes, apples, greengages and nectarines.  On entry it seems deceptively light, but quickly expands to fill the mouth with impressive fruit concentration and depth.  There is a spine of mouth tingling minerality, which comes from the soils, that flows throughout the wine and draws out its lingering aftertaste.  With careful cellaring over the next 5 or 6 years, this wine should develop a range of other characters and complexity.

Nature gave a small crop of well ripened grapes which have given this wine extra concentration and depth.  It was vinted using traditional methods employed to make Bordeaux red wine.
 
On release, the wine has a deep, ruby hue.  There is a dense core of fruit with hints of purple plums, blackberries, black cherries, cassis, liquorice and spice both on the bouquet and the palate.  It is chunky and muscular in the palate with a frame-work of well-ripened, fine-grained tannins which flow through the wine and help draw out the lingering after-taste. 

This was an excellent vintage for this traditional Bordeaux blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon.  Both portions underwent fermentation by their natural yeasts and aged sur lie for 11 months, the former in stainless steel and the latter in old French oak barrels.

In this traditional Bordeaux blend of grapes the sauvignon blanc’s powerful aromas and flavours are tamed by the semillon, which adds mid-palate weight and depth.  The exotic aromas and flavours suggest tropical spices, Turkish musk, passion-fruit and paw paw, supported by an array of citrus fruits and wild thyme.  The wine has good concentration in the mouth but is refined and elegant with a spine of tingling minerality and crisp acidity which complement its lingering, dry finish.
 
The French add semillon to sauvignon blanc to give the wine longevity.  Thus, unlike pure sauvignon blanc, it should age well with careful cellaring, developing additional fascinating nuances over the next 5-6 years and living for a decade or more.

The grapes were grown in stony soil in the hottest part of our vineyard and we vinted it using the traditional methods employed to make the red wines of Bordeaux. 

The merlot has given the wine beautiful plum and purple peach fruitiness, while the cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc have added cassis, tobacco and spicy ethereal notes.  The palate entry is deceptively soft, but the wine expands in the mouth to reveal a broad framework of ripe tannins, that draw out its length and support a lingering after-taste.
Wine in moderation is a natural health food

The spring of 2009 was one of the warmest ever recorded so the vines got off to a good start with an early bud burst.  Late spring and early summer however, were unseasonably cool and cloudy, sufficiently slowing the development of the grapes to cause us concern.  The skies then cleared and we had three to four months of unbroken sunshine.  This enabled us to leave the fruit on the vine to attain excellent maturity and ripeness, while cool autumn nights helped retain excellent natural acidity.

Warm and dry conditions prevailed during spring and early summer so that we became concerned the vines might be affected by drought.  Luckily we had a brief torrential downpour in February which set the dry streams gurgling merrily and replenished the groundwater reserves.  The rest of the summer was excellent.  Although we had humid conditions in late autumn we had earlier removed some leaves from the fruiting zone to allow good ventilation so the crop ripened beautifully and remained perfectly healthy.

This was an excellent season for riesling, which was grown on an outcrop of mineral-rich stony soil.  It was fermented at low temperatures to retain its zesty aromas and flavours. Citrus fruit characters and a little natural dissolved C to give O2 to give a hint of spritzig and tangy freshness.
 
The aromas and flavours are an enticing mix of limes, lemons, red apples, nectarines and white fleshed peaches.  At first sip it appears light and zesty but the wine then gradually expands to become concentrated and mouth-filling, while retaining a refined elegance.  Its plump fruitiness is matched by a seam of tangy minerality and natural acidity which courses through the wine, giving it balance and drawing out the length.  With careful cellaring it should develop a range of other enticements during the next 5 years and live for very many more.

We only make Finale in special years and 2008 was one of these.  The spring and early summer were warm and so dry that we were concerned the vines would become affected by drought stress.  Fortunately a brief, torrential downpour in February removed this possibility and the rest of the summer was excellent.  Humidity in late autumn caused a small amount of beautifully ripe chardonnay to develop noble botrytis.  We hand selected these raisined grapes to make this wine.