Two Paddocks The Last Chance

Two Paddocks The Last Chance bottle image

Wine Description

“We grow our premium Two Paddocks Pinot Noir entirely on our four small vineyards in Central Otago. In some exceptional vintages, listening carefully, we realize that one of these sites may have something extraordinary to say in its own right. It is only then that we will make one of these very rare single vineyard wines.” Sam Neill, Proprietor

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Acclaim
“The 2020 The Last Chance Pinot Noir is from the Earnscleugh Vineyard (pronounced “earn-skloo”) and is a little reductive here today. There are layers of campfire and black pudding, cherry, rhubarb, raspberry and star anise. The mid-palate here is sensational—the reduction is a positive rather than a detractor—and lends a little weight to the experience. I like it. Bloody.” — Wine Advocate, Feb 2024
“This has fantastic concentration and complexity. Earthy notes of bark, dried herbs, salty mushrooms and nori marry ripe red and purple berry fruit. Sleek and refined with well-integrated tannins. There's a peppery freshness shining through. Savory and long. From organically grown grapes.”
— James Suckling, Nov 2022
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Vineyard & Production Info
Vineyard name
The Last Chance
Soil composition
Raw schist gravels
Training method
VSP
Vines/acre:
6 acres
Exposure:
Northern
Year vineyard planted:
1998
Bottles produced of this wine:
1,958
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Winemaking & Aging
Varietal composition:
100% Pinot Noir
Type of aging container:
Barriques
Type of oak:
French
Length of aging before bottling:
11 months
Age of Aging Container:
25% New
Total SO2
38
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Analytical Data
pH level:
3.55
Acidity:
5.9 g/L
Alcohol:
12.5 %
Dry extract:
24.6 g/L
Total SO2
38
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Wine Production

Hand picked and sorted in the vineyard. One-third whole-bunch fermentation in a 3.5 ton wooden cuve. 5 day cold soak. No commercial yeast added, ferment temperature peaked at 32° – post fermentation transferred to medium and light toast French barriques for 11 months maturation. 25% new wood and the balance in second and third fill barrels. Light filtration prior to bottling.

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About the Vineyard

The Last Chance is a beautifully sited two-hectare terrace perched in bright clear air above the Earnscleugh Valley, carefully planted with well-tended Burgundian clone pinot noir. It nestles amongst a small cluster of the World’s most southerly vineyards and takes its name from the watercourse that runs through its heart, hand dug by gold miners in the 1860s, The Last Chance.