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 2021. 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 Tim Bourne.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This red deftly balances power and concentration with freshness and elegance. Aromas of blackberry, cherry, chocolate, nutmeg, bay leaf, tar and dried rose all combine for a heady and characterful wine. Juicy fruit rushes over the pal- ate only to be enveloped by leathery, spicy tannins. Drink now–2032.
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James Suckling
Aromas of strawberries, black cherries and some white pepper follow through to a full body with a creamy texture and a dried-orange aftertaste. A little tight at the finish, but shows energy and focus. Drinkable now, but needs time to soften. Better after 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The full-bodied, rich 2019 Kupe Pinot Noir is a lovely example of how size doesn't have to mean a loss of elegance. Bold black cherry and plum flavors combine with nuances of cola spice and mocha to yield ample complexity, while the palate is plush and velvety, seamlessly extending through a lingering finish. While delicious now, I expect it will drink well for more than a decade.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2019 Escarpment Kupe Pinot Noir is beautiful and pleasingly mouthcoating on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine shines with aromas and flavors of red fruit, chalk, rocks, and minerals. Serve it with lightly grilled salmon fillets. (Tasted: February 10, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Juicy and vibrant, offering fresh maraschino cherry, wild raspberry and cranberry flavors, with clove, pepper and green tea flavors that linger on the long, expressive finish. Drink now through 2036.
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.