Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Elegant with concentrated red cherry, violet, mixed spice and coffee flavours. Sweet fruit is balanced by fine tannins which help drive a lengthy finish. A taut, thoroughbred that needs time to unlock its obvious complexity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made with grapes coming from a 15 year old vineyard in the Brancott Valley, just down the road from Clayvin, that is planted mainly with 777, 115 and 667 clones, the medium to deep ruby-purple colored 2012 Pinot Noir reveals aromas of red currants, black cherries and raspberry leaves with some loamy characters plus hints of roses and black tea. The concentrated, medium-bodied palate has a great savory fruit character supported by firm, grainy tannins through the long,earthy finish. It is very taut and needs time.
Rating: 92+ -
Wine Spectator
Fresh and aromatic, with green matcha tea, sea salt, lavender and melon notes to complement the pure macerated raspberry and juicy cherry fruit and generous velvety tannins. Gains complexity and nuance on the long finish. Drink now through 2027. 750 cases imported.
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Wine & Spirits
New oak darkens the scent of this wine, but there's plenty of stemmy fruit to support it. Crisp acidity turns its flavors toward pink grapefruit in the 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.”
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.