Configuration: (6 x 750mL)

Winery: Sato

Appellation: Pisa Terrace, Mount Pisa, Central Otago, South Island

Philosophy/Practices: Biodynamic

Grape Variety: 100% pinot noir

ABV: 14%

Why we love it: Yoshiaki & Kyoko Sato craft this stunning Pinot Noir from their own vineyard, La Ferme de Sato, planted 2016 in the famed Central Otago appellation of New Zealand.

La Ferme de Sato sits at quite an elevation above the western edge of Lake Dunstan, at the foothills of the Pisa Mountains that surround Central Otago. Its east-facing aspect means that it receives the gentlest – morning – sun: a critical piece of winegrowing in this region, which sees up to 18 hours of (very warm) sunshine at the peak of summer. The site was just natural grassland with rocky outcrops before the Satos began preparing it for planting. Together, Yoshiaki & Kyoko hand-harvest the grapes with a small crew, include partial whole-cluster (proportions vary by vintage) through the wholly spontaneous, natural fermentation, and use pigeage (footstomping) to crush the grapes. The resulting wine is unfined, unfiltered and a stunning, silky, nuanced iteration of Central Otago Pinot Noir.

Sur Les Nuages means “on the clouds” – a fitting name for the stunning landscape that surrounds this vineyard, which sits above the clouds on the edge of Mount Pisa.