Winemaker Notes
Dark cherry aromatics with savory cocoa undertones, underpinned with delicate notes of dried herbs. Structured tannins extend the length of the palate, signifying great ageability for this wine. An elegant yet powerful Pinot Noir, where depth of fruit and tannin abound, balanced with the delightful acidity that the Coal Pit site is known for.
Typically, Coal Pit Pinot Noir peaks around 3-4 years of age, with some secondary character profiles apparent while retaining fruit vibrancy. With careful cellaring, flavors will age gracefully into more tertiary and complex characters of leather and beef tea, around 8 years old.
Enjoy with a wide range of food, however this wine matches exceptionally well with game, mushroom and truffle dishes. A broad array of spices can be successfully paired to the wine's flavors - get creative and best of all, enjoy with good company.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has complex aromas of wild cherries, red plums, ash, thyme, grilled rosemary and porcini mushrooms. Some flintiness, too. Silky and full of flavor, with a medium body and very fine tannins. Sleek finish.
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.