Description
TASTING NOTES
Norton’s flagship wine is a selection of their very best vineyard parcels. It shows great depth on the nose, with dark, brooding aromas of toast, mocha and rich black fruit. The palate is dense and opulent, with impressive concentration of fruit and yet a deftly woven structure, leading to spicy complexity on the finish.
PRODUCER
In 1885, the Buenos Aires to Mendoza railway opened, cementing the significance of this emerging wine-growing region high in the Andean foothills. Ten years later, Edmund Norton planted the first vines in Mendoza’s Luján de Cuyo district. At 900-1,100 metres, the altitude moderates the temperature, causing an extended ripening season, and also exposes the vines to more ultraviolet light, which encourages the development of colour and tannin in the black-skinned varieties. The result is whites packed with vibrant flavour and good natural acidity, and well-structured, food-friendly reds.
VINEYARD
Gernot Langes is selected from vines between fifty and eighty years old, growing in vineyards at up to 1,100 metres above sea level. Grapes are hand picked and selected into twenty-kilo baskets.
WINERY
The must was given five days’ cold maceration at 8-10oC, then fermented with selected yeasts for seven days at 28oC. The wine spent 25-30 days on skins before racking to 100% new French oak barrels for eighteen months’ ageing. It spent a further fourteen months in bottle before release.
