Winemaker Notes
#18 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2021
Lovely savory dry herb and dark earth tones partner with bright red fruits, a hint of citrus and warm spice. Initially restrained, the wine unfolds with energy, focus and layers of complexity. Silky ripe tannins and fine mineral acidity extend throughout the palate, showing wonderful texture, layers and completeness.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a very attractive and gently complex pinot that sits in a red-cherry and red-plum zone, laced with spicy, gently herbal and floral elements, too. The palate has a very composed, fresh red-cherry center with spice and light peppery nuances. Plenty of bright acidity lifts the finish. So fresh. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Generous and pure, with maraschino cherry, raspberry puree and red licorice notes at the core on a plush, velvety frame, expanding into details of sandalwood, white truffle, rosemary and cardamom.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From the bio dynamically farmed "home" vineyard, the 2018 Burn Cottage Vineyard Pinot Noir features hints of thyme, mocha and cedar, all accenting kaleidoscopic fruit notes that range from plums to red raspberries and back. Medium-bodied, it's expansive on the palate without being weighty, silky and ripe while still being structured, with a long, richly textural finish. While drinkable now, it will certainly still be going strong a decade (and probably longer) from now.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
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.