Winemaker Notes
This wine was grown on the Barton Vineyard, Huangarua Road, Martinborough from vines 24 years old. A combination of deep alluvial gravels which the Martinborough Terraces are renowned for and a blend of many clones grown in a very sheltered spot always rewards us with a classic example of New World Pinot Noir.
It has a unique site derived complexity and texture combined with black cherry/plum fruit flavors. It will continue to develop for up to 10 years and will always be a wonderful counterpart to any game food.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Fruit-focused nose with very attractive black cherries, hints of orange zest and black tea, as well as dried roses, some charcuterie and plenty of fragrance. The palate is fleshy and seductive with resoundingly powerful tannins that set a long, even finish. Drink now or hold.
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Wine Spectator
The tannins have a firm hold on the muscular core, with juicy raspberry and cherry flavors and details of sage and loamy earth. Shows plenty of harmony on the finish, where a touch of matcha green tea lingers. Drink now through 2028
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2016 Escarpment Te Rehua Single Vineyard Pinot Noir is an excellent wine concentrating on showing what a single site can produce. TASTING NOTES: This wine is bright, fruit-forward, and substantial. Its aromas and flavors of active red and black fruits stay steady on the palate and lasting in the finish. Pair it with grilled lamb chops. (Tasted: September 18, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
On the herbal-floral side of the spectrum, the 2016 Te Rehua Pinot Noir offers hints of rosemary, thyme and rose petals in addition to notes of red plums and dusty earth. It's medium-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, red-fruit finish. While it doesn't have the robustness of previous vintages, it's still a charming, attractive wine for relatively early consumption.
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.