Tapanappa ‘Definitus’ 2019 Pinot Noir

The centre of the Foggy Hill north-western slope planted in 2003 to Dijon Pinot Noir clones 115 and 777, ripens grapes to a greater fruit intensity and deeper colour than the rest of the vineyard. The centre of slope that we have named the Definitus block is harvested separately and produces a special wine, still Foggy Hill but defined by its location on the hill.

In the Definitus block the underlying ferricrete sandstone is very close to the soil surface, restricting the size of the vines and their crop load. Hence the grapes ripen more uniformly and to a greater intensity.

The 2019 Definitus is the third release of this special wine. The various other blocks of the rest of Foggy Hill complement one another to produce the unique and typical terroir expression that defines Foggy Hill Pinot Noir.

2019 vintage was the last in a sequence of above average temperature vintages from 2006 to 2019, the only cooler exceptions being 2009, 2011 and 2015.

At Foggy Hill, 2019 was warmer than average with a growing season heat summation (HDD) of 1507°C days exceeding the average of 1307°C days. However, there were no heat waves.

Nights were a strong contributor to the elevated growing season heat and that was a plus for quality. As well as being warm, 2019 was dry, with 72% of normal rainfall during the growing season. Fruit set in late November in cool and damp conditions established a small crop that required no fruit thinning.

In 2019 Foggy Hill delivered disease free, thoroughly ripe fruit in perfect condition at moderate sugar levels. The crop level was ideal at 5.5 tonnes/hectare. The 2019 Definitus Foggy Hill Pinot Noir was harvested on the 9th of March, which is a week ahead of the normal harvest window.