Winemaker Notes
Perfume, elegant fruit flavors, and soft ripe tannins are all hallmarks of this exceptional Pinot Noir. Perfect weather in Martinborough during flowering in December 2014 resulted in an ideal crop which did not require thinning.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Escarpment's blended 2015 Pinot Noir represents a solid introduction to the style of founder Larry McKenna. It's earthy and savory but with a deep core of black cherry fruit. It seems a bit gentler than previous vintages, but it's still medium to full-bodied, with ample structure to support a decade or more of development. Ripe plum, cola and chocolate notes emerge on the lengthy 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.