For product availability, please select your "Ship to" state above.
Got it, I'll ship to California
New Customers Save $30 off $100+* with code AUGNEW30
New Customers Save $30* with code AUGNEW30
*New customers only. One-time use per customer. Order must be placed by 8/31/2018. The $30 discount is given for a single order with a minimum of $100 excluding shipping and tax. Items with pricing ending in .97 are excluded and will not count toward the minimum required. Discount does not apply to corporate orders, gift certificates, StewardShip membership fees, select Champagne brands, Riedel glassware, fine and rare wine, and all bottles 3.0 liters or larger. No other promotion codes, coupon codes or corporate discounts may be applied to order.
Amisfield Pinot Noir 2003
Winemaker Notes
Amisfield Vineyards is a producer of fine wine from the Lowburn area of New Zealand's Central Otago region. The region is renowned for producing world class Pinot Noir and aromatic white wines. Amisfield Farm was a high country sheep station located 7km north of lowburn on the shores of Lake Dunstan. Nestled between Amisfield and Parkburn streams planting commenced in 1999 and now consists of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. Each vineyard block is purposely grown as a component contributing layers of complexity to the overall blend.
Amisfield's overriding winemaking philosophy revolves around the fact that quality wine is grown not made. Clean ripe fruit is hand picked and destemmed into open topped fermenters. After a week or so pre-ferment soaking of wild yeasts in the winery begin fermentation. Once dry, the skins are gently pressed and run off to tight grained French Oak barrels and matured in underground cellars.
The style is classic Central Otago Pinot, dark cherry and spice aromas lead to a richly fruited palate with fine silky tannins. Drinking well on release and can be cellarred for up to 5 years from vintage.
Home to the globe’s most southerly vineyards, which are cultivated below the 45th parallel, Central Otago is a true one-of-a-kind wine growing region, but not only because of its extreme location.
Central Otago is more dependent on one single variety than any other region in New Zealand—and it isn’t Sauvignon blanc. They don’t even make Sauvignon blanc there.
Pinot Noir claims nearly 75% of the region’s vineyards with Pinot Gris coming in a far second place and Riesling behind it. This is also New Zealand’s only wine region with a continental climate, giving it more diurnal and seasonal temperature shifts than any other.
The subregion of Bannockburn has enjoyed the most success historically but the area’s exceptional growth has moved to the promising regions of Cromwell/Bendigo and Alexandra districts. Central Otago is known for its fruity and full-bodied Pinot noir. With the freedom to experiment here, growers and winemakers are easily exhibiting the area’s great potential.
One of the most difficult yet rewarding grapes to grow, Pinot Noir is commonly referred to by winemakers as the “heartbreak grape.” However, the greatest red wines of Burgundy prove that it is unquestionably worth the effort. More reflective than most varieties of the land on which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate, requires low yields to achieve high quality, and demands care in the vineyard and lots of attention in the winery. It is an important component of Champagne and the only variety permitted in red Burgundy. Pinot Noir enjoys immense popularity internationally, most notably in Oregon, California, and New Zealand.
In the Glass
Pinot Noir Is all about red fruit—strawberry, raspberry, and cherry. It is relatively pale in color with soft tannins and lively acidity. It ranges in body from very light to the heavier side of medium, typically landing somewhere in the middle—giving it extensive possibilities for food pairing. With age (of which the best examples can handle an astounding amount), it can develop hauntingly beautiful characteristics of fresh earth, autumn leaves, and truffles.
Perfect Pairings
Pinot’s healthy acidity cuts through the oiliness of pink-fleshed fish like salmon, ocean trout, and tuna. Its mild mannered tannins don’t fight with spicy food, and give it enough structure to pair with all sorts of poultry—chicken, quail, and especially duck. As the namesake wine of Boeuf Bourguignon, it can even match with heavier fare. Pinot Noir is also very vegetarian-friendly—most notably with any dish that features mushrooms.
Sommelier Secret
Pinot Noir is dangerously drinkable, highly addictive, and has a bad habit of emptying the wallet. Look for affordable but still delicious examples from Germany (as Spätburgunder), Italy (as Pinot Nero), Chile, New Zealand, and France’s Loire Valley and Alsace regions.