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Organic. Planted in 2002, the Wrekin Vineyard is a small, organically certified (BioGro) and biodynamically farmed site at the top of the Brancott Valley, almost in its own locality. It’s a great new site for Corofin, providing both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of “exceptional individuality and quality”, according to Mike Paterson. Owned by Jan and Andrew Johns and farmed by Jeremy Highland, Wrekin sits in the lee of the Southern Valley scarps on clay-rich soils laid over greywacke mother rock. Orientated northeast and planted at 4000 vines per hectare (to moderate vigour), it’s also one of the highest vineyards in the valley, producing fruit that is often the last to be harvested.
This is Corofin’s third Wrekin Pinot, and it’s easy to see why this 14-hectare vineyard is fast becoming a significant site in the Marlborough landscape. Referencing the cool location and late ripening here, Paterson notes: “Having Pinot on the vine for as long as possible without compromising the integrity of site expression always produces the best results.” The 2022 season put an end to a string of drought-like seasons in Marlborough and heralded a return to decent yields―that said, the Patersons’ block was kept to a Grand Cru Burgundy-like level of 35hl/ha. The fruit came off the vine in mid-March and was destemmed to a pair of one-tonne open fermenters. The bottom 10% of the fruit was crushed by foot, with the remaining berries kept intact. Extraction was gentle and occurred once a day. After 21 days, the wine was pressed to seasoned oak for 14 months’ maturation, followed by eight months in tank before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.