Winemaker Notes
A bright fruited, expressive nose with notes of dark cherry, juniper berry and a honeyed aromatic hint of fennel intrigue the nose. There is a savory taste with firm tannins and ripe fruit finishing with a lively mineral edge to balance. Unfined and unfiltered, expect a little sediment to accumulate with age.
Decant to your favorite glassware and enjoy, with friends, lamb and other fine grilled pieces.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Like many wines from New Zealand's biodynamic godfather, James Millton, La Cote requires patience. At first pour it's mushroomy and funky, but it changes in the glass and bottle the longer it's open, revealing a complex combo of maraschino cherry, juniper, celery leaf and rose petal. Raspingly dry (a surprise, considering the fruity nose), the palate harmonizes into something elegant and characterful, smudged with charcoal-textured tannins along with a bony frame. A wine entirely inimitable.
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.”
Occupying the North Island’s East Cape, Gisborne keeps The Bay of Plenty to its northwest and Hawkes Bay on its southwestern side. It is the country’s most distinctive producer of Chardonnay, with heavy investment here until Sauvignon blanc stole the country’s limelight. Gisborne produces soft and charming Chardonnay, boasting stone and tropical fruit flavors.
The region includes a good number of artisanal winemakers but many larger Auckland producers source from Gisborne for their own Chardonnay bottlings.