Eight clones of Pinot Noir and four clones of Chardonnay were used in the 2005 Pelorus
Vintage blend. Following harvest, the grapes were pressed without crushing and after a short settling period, the juice was racked into fermentation. A warm primary fermentation in a mixture of stainless steel tanks and large and small format old French oak vessels was followed by spontaneous malolactic fermentation. The base wines were then aged for a further nine months on yeast lees prior to blending in October 2005. The final 60 per cent Pinot Noir and 40 per cent Chardonnay blend was tiraged in December 2005 using prise de mousse yeast and subsequently aged on lees for three years prior to disgorging in early 2009. The wine has an alcohol of 13.0 % v/v, pH of 3.07, 6.8 g/L titratable acidity and residual sugar of 7.5 g/L.
The Pelorus Vintage 2005 exhibits enticing fruit aromas of red apple and delicate citrus fruit
overlayed with savoury yeast-derived characters of bread dough, brioche and cashew nuts. The
wine has a full, creamy mid palate that leads in to an elegant long finish.