Craggy Range Winery Te Muna Road Vineyard Pinot Noir 2012

Professional Ratings

• 94 Wine & Spirits
  This is a Narnia wine, its flavors otherworldly, their shape as regal and bold as a lion’s mane, the ruff of a strange and magical beast feeding on onion grass, herbs, flowers and then meat grilled over an open fire. It has a vibrant lightness and energy that lives in the shadows. This grows on the top terrace at Te Muna Road, where the Huangarua River left a deep bed of gravel and stones under a thin surface of sandy loam more than 20,000 years ago. Steve Smith, MW, planted eight clones of pinot noir segmented into 40 blocks, harvested late after a cool season, fermented with 10 percent whole clusters in oak vats and stainless steel tanks, and aged the wine in French oak barriques (25 percent new). All of that combines into a pinot noir with outrageous complexity and the vitality to support it for a decade in the bottle.
• 93 Wine Spectator
  Elegant, with dried floral, baked apple and white pepper aromas and Earl Grey tea, wet clay and wild strawberry notes. The texture is supple, verging on creamy. Drink now through 2025.
• 91 Wine Enthusiast
  This is wonderfully supple and approachable, light on the palate yet not lacking for flavor. Hints of violets and toast flame silky cherry fruit which glides easily through the long finish. Drink now–2018.
• 90 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  Medium ruby in color, the 2012 Te Muna Road Vineyard Pinot noir has very pretty red cherry, raspberry and pomegranate notes over hints of violets, pepper and moss. Light to medium-bodied with just enough elegant flavour supported by chewy tannins, it finishes with good persistence.