Escarpment Kupe Pinot Noir 2016
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James
Suckling - Decanter
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Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The wine was given every priority during its elevation and now shows all the hallmarks of a grand young wine on release in 2018. 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
Exceptionally complex, spicy and ripe, this delivers profoundly concentrated and pure black cherries with plenty of sweet spice and an ethereal, undergrowth edge. Smoothly rendered and delivered in a very deep-set, black-cherry palate. Inviting and dense, this really delivers in 2016. Superb. Drink in 2022.
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Decanter
The Kupé vineyard was originally planted on its own roots in 1999, and is now slowly being replanted due to phylloxera - damn aphid. The 2016 season was warm and dry, producing a complex and harmonious wine here. Escarpment is known for its use of whole bunches, and this contains a whopping 70%. The wine fills the mouth with fragrances of pure damson, with spicy cinnamon and herbal elements. An abundance of resolved tannins coats the palate, melting harmoniously on the long, drawn out, tea-leaf finish. Drinking Window 2020 - 2030
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From a closely planted vineyard on Te Muna Road, the 2016 Kupe Pinot Noir offers an incredible bouquet of lavender potpourri and ripe black cherries. It's full-bodied and rich without seeming heavy at all, the ripeness balanced by fresh notes of herbs and soft tannins. No doubt some purists will quibble with the level of ripeness (it's labeled at 14.5% alcohol), but to my mind, there is no arguing with the hedonistic pleasure ride this wine delivers. And while it's approachable now, the tannins that appear on the finish suggest at least a decade of positive evolution ahead.
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Wine Spectator
Subtle, with details of talcum, white pepper and dried lavender upfront, leading to pomegranate and wild strawberry flavors. A hint of sandalwood lingers on the finish, where the fine-grained tannins take on a gentle grip. Drink now through 2028.
Other Vintages
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James
Suckling -
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Spectator -
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Enthusiast
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wilfred
Wong -
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Spectator
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Robert
Parker - Vinous
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James
Suckling -
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Enthusiast -
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Robert
Parker
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James
Suckling -
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Spectator
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James
Suckling -
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Robert
Parker
- Decanter
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Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
Escarpment Vineyard was established in 1999 as a joint business venture between Robert & Mem Kirby (of Australia's Village Roadshow) and Larry & Sue McKenna. Collectively, these four directors bring to Escarpment a world of experience, skill and understanding to the nurturing and making of fine, deliciously sublime wine. It goes without saying the impetus behind establishing this vineyard came from the four's deep love for Pinot Noir. Meeting by chance in 1999 through Dr Richard Smith, Larry and Robert quickly hit it off and realised they had more than a love for the grape in common. Serious talk about establishing a definitive New World vineyard began in earnest even then and the 'idea whose time has come' has resulted in one of the most significant vineyard developments in the New Zealand district of Martinborough. Escarpment is accredited with Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand, an industry initiative directed through New Zealand Winegrowers. With a growing trade and consumer demand for environmentally friendly products, it provides an important platform to promote the New Zealand wine industry as a world leader in clean, green wine production.
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.