Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Dark cherries and stony earthy notes too, some chalky aromas intertwined with toasty oak spice, plenty of darker cherries and cassis, iodine, some dried herbs too. On the palate there's a plushness and depth that really makes for compelling drinking even now; the fruit builds weight and presence in effortless, balanced style, plenty of cola and cherry flavor pervades every part of the mouth, leaving an open and expansive impression at the finish. Mineral-flecked and deep through the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2012 Cornish Point Pinot Noir is scented of red plums, blackberries and wild blueberries with touches of dark chocolate, Szechuan pepper and black tea. Full-bodied and richly fruited in the mouth, it has a solid backbone of medium to firm silky tannins and crisp acid, finishing with great length. Drink it now to 2021+.
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Wine Spectator
Vibrant and expressive, with crisp cherry, plum and raspberry notes that are pure and polished, showing layers of cigar box, baking spices and fresh herb. Finishes with a blast of white pepper. Drink now through 2026.
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.”
Home to the globe’s most southerly vineyards, which are cultivated below the 45th parallel, Central Otago is a true one-of-a-kind wine growing region, but not only because of its extreme location.
Central Otago is more dependent on one single variety than any other region in New Zealand—and it isn’t Sauvignon blanc. They don’t even make Sauvignon blanc there.
Pinot Noir claims nearly 75% of the region’s vineyards with Pinot Gris coming in a far second place and Riesling behind it. This is also New Zealand’s only wine region with a continental climate, giving it more diurnal and seasonal temperature shifts than any other.
The subregion of Bannockburn has enjoyed the most success historically but the area’s exceptional growth has moved to the promising regions of Cromwell/Bendigo and Alexandra districts. Central Otago is known for its fruity and full-bodied Pinot noir. With the freedom to experiment here, growers and winemakers are easily exhibiting the area’s great potential.