Terra Sancta Slapjack Block Pinot Noir

A wise man once said “find the best vineyard sites you can because you can’t out perform your vineyards.” So they found the Sancta vineyard on the now world famous Felton Road in Bannockburn and set up shop.

Terra Sancta. It means sacred earth, holy land and there’s definitely something pretty bloody special about this little corner of the wine world. It’s home to the first vines planted in Bannockburn. And the firsts don’t stop there, these guys can also claim to be the first producer of a wine based Botanical Aperitivo in NZ, the first to plant the Lagrien variety, the first  super premium Rosé and the first Rosé producer to make Michael Cooper’s “Super Classic” list.

The Slapjack Block was the first block planted in Bannockburn back in 1991. The vines are ungrafted on their own roots, it’s a sun-drenched, north-facing slope and some 250 metres above sea level on soils dense with glacial schist gravels and an overlay of clay.

In Terra Sancta’s own words Terra Sancta Slapjack Block Pinot Noir is “Terra Sancta’s pinnacle of Pinot Noir, from the first vines planted in Bannockburn. Slapjack Block lies at the heart of our Felton Road Estate…A complete wine of presence and gravitas, built to age.”

This is the world class Terra Sancta Slapjack Block Pinot Noir from the 2022 vintage.

Scoring a very high 96/100 with James Suckling who said “The medium-bodied palate has seamlessly integrated tannins and high-tension acidity that carry an earth- and spice-driven Old World charm. So finely integrated and restrained, this has an underlying power that will age gracefully.”

A wine you simply don’t want to miss out on. Drink now or up to 12 years from vintage.