2008 Churton Marlborough, The Abyss Pinot Noir

Churton Wines

Churton is a small Marlborough winery, owned and operated by Sam and Mandy Weaver. Churton has been exporting its wine since 1997. Their winemaking is focused on producing Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir that combines the renowned flavour and aromatic intensity of Marlborough fruit with the finesse and complexity characteristic of fine European wines. Smaller parcels of Viogner and Petit Manseng have been added to the vineyard, the plan of which resembles a side of beef (and the various plots reflect this with memorable titles like skirt, loin and rump). 

Sam has had a distinguished and varied career in the wine trade, not least his early job working in the Basingstoke cellars of Berry Bros. and Rudd! Since moving to New Zealand he established himself first as a winemaking consultant and then proprietor of Churton which takes its name from Sam’s Shropshire birthplace, known more formally as Church Pulverbatch.

Read the blog on the Churton winery.

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.

Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.

Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.

The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.