La Ferme de Sato Sur Les Nuages Pinot Noir 2023

La Ferme de Sato Sur Les Nuages Pinot Noir 2023

Yoshiaki and Kyoko Sato have been making wine in NZ’s Central Otago since moving there from Tokyo in 2006. Starting out at Felton Rd, Yoshiaki subsequently became winemaker at neighbouring Mt Edward, and Kyoko continued to be vineyard supervisor at Felton Rd, until 2018 when they both decided to focus full time on their own wines.

There are two labels from Yoshi and Kyoko. Their first release under the Sato label in 2009 was 190 cases of Pinot Noir sourced from external growers, a mantra that still continues to this day under the Sato moniker. The La Ferme de Sato bottlings literally translate as the farm of Sato, a small 5ha biodynamic and organically run property the duo have managed since their purchase in 2016. Located under Mt Pisa in the Cromwell subregion of Otago, the Sato farm sits at 300-350m above sea level with a specific focus of easterly facing vineyards, chasing that morning sunshine, rather than the intense heat of the afternoon. The farm itself has no history of chemical use, pre purchase it was a sheep pasture, and is planted to a mix of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gamay and Cabernet Franc.

The Satos make wines with minimal intervention. They often use the terminology 'natural' - and unfairly this can push people into thinking wines that are faulty or flawed. I tend to look at it as a Japanese translational thing when they reference 'natural' wines, these are wines that are farmed without the use of pesticides, herbicides, systemic fungicides or inorganic fertilisers, and then in the cellar there are no additives utilised, with the wines spending a long time naturally stabilising in cask prior to bottling with a very small addition of sulphur (<15ppm). In their use of the word natural, the only thing here is organically farmed grapes.

Their precision and education allows them to make exceptionally elegant wines of this nature with Yoshi having worked with Bernard Huber, Domaine Matassa, Jean-Yves Bizot and Jean-Pierre Frick, whilst Kyoko had spent time abroad with Phillip Pacalet, Julien Guillot and Christian Binner.

La Ferme de Sato Sur Les Nuages translates to the voice of the vineyard. This is a snapshot of their 1.3 hectares of Pinot Noir, coming from all over the farm on a mix of Alluvial, sandy and silt loam soils with schist and quartz gravel. Hand picked over a period of 19 days from the 29th of March through to April 17th. 100% destemmed fruit is fermented with natural yeasts, 26 to 35 days on skins, prior to 20 months in a mixture of French Puncheon (500L) and barriques (228L) of which 22% was new. Bottled with 15ppm of sulphur in January 2025.

Licks of reduction and oak spice overlay this dense, black tea, sous bois character with pops of raspberry, bright pink fruit sitting above sandalwood, and this melange of cassis and rhubarb. There's an inky darkness to this that is just enthralling, having all the power and intensity that you come to expect from Otago, but it feels of more old world, with less of the blockiness and fruitiness you see routinely in this part of the globe. It's kaleidoscopically complex with serious detail, extended time in wood imparting this lithe savouriness, and a finish of ferric nature, with sweet licks of baking spice, showy wood and firm tannins guiding it's close. Genuine wine!

A pinot noir with clarity and purity, showing fresh and dried strawberries, burnt oranges and layers of cherries and cranberries. A touch of orange peel. Medium-bodied with a solid core of fruit, fine tannins and a juicy undertone. Crunchy, with hints of smoke and flint at the end. Drink now. Screw cap - 96 Points, JamesSuckling.com