Winemaker Notes
The vines which have grown this wine have been our pride and joy since being planted in 1999. The spacing of 1.5m * 1m (6,600 vines/ha) is approaching the planting densities used in Burgundy from where the inspiration for this wine comes. The season was warm and drier than average for this block. It has created fruit harvested in brilliant condition giving ripe flavors and soft tannins. The summer was as good as the inspirational 2013 vintage. Fermented in wooden French cuvees, hand plunged and aged in 50% new French oak barriques for 18 months. It was bottled without fining or filtration, promoting soft mouth feel and balance.
The wine was given every priority during its elevation and now shows all the hallmarks of a grand young wine on release in 2017. It is at the vanguard of Pinot noir style in the New World and should age gracefully for up to 10 years.
The wine is a true reflection of both Martinborough’s unique terroir and the skills and experience of winemakers Larry McKenna and Huw Kinch.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The top dog is in impressive shape in this perfect harvest, showing plenty of charismatic perfume, spices and ripe cherry fruits, as well as earthy nuances. The palate has a wealth of ripeness. This is an extremely luscious wine, bathed in ripe darker cherry and plum fruit flavors with a wall of plush velvety tannins delivering a long, commanding but caressing palate. Brilliant. Drink now and for some years to come. Screw cap.
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Wine Spectator
This powerful wine is tightly wound yet very expressive, with plenty of torque to the plum and blood orange flavors at the core, slowly revealing details of cedar, tobacco, cumin seed, rosemary and black tea. Everything sings in harmony on the long finish. Drink now through 2027.
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.