Winemaker Notes
This is an outstanding example of classic Pinot Noir. It will continue to develop for up to 10 years and will always be a wonderful counterpart to any game food
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Very attractive perfume, spice and earthy depth here, as well as vibrant, red-cherry and berry aromas. There’s very attractive tautness to this pinot with crisp tannins that define ripe red cherries and red plums in assertive and succulent style. The refined power is striking.
-
Wine Enthusiast
#43 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 of 2019
From 30-year-old vines in deep alluvial gravels, this is a spicy and pristine wine that's approachable now but is also very cellar worthy. A heady perfume of blueberries, pomegranates, tobacco leaves, scrubby Mediterranean herbs, florals and crushed stones kicks it all off. Then the palate takes it all to another level, bursting with crunchy, juicy fruit, crystalline-like minerality and savory spices, all threaded together with structured ultrafine tannins.
-
Wine Spectator
Fragrant and robust, this red combines power and finesse, with an overwhelming amount of detail. Flavors of black pepper, mahogany, hops, sandalwood, blackberry and plum are joined by accents of Earl Grey tea, cedar and baking spices. The tannins have plenty of muscle, but there's an amazing sense of harmony and polish on the long, intricate 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.”
Part of the Wairarapa region in the southern end of the country’s North Island, Martinborough is a bucolic appellation full of artisan, lifestyle wine producers. Above all else, their goals are to tend vineyards for low yields and create wines of supreme quality. Pinot noir is the main grape variety here, occupying over half of the land under vine.
Comparing topography, climate and soils, the region is nearly identical to Marlborough except that it produces top quality reds on the regular.