Winemaker Notes
Pair the Mt. Beautiful Pinot Noir with crispy duck, wild pork, water cress sandwiches, spring lamb or a romantic mood.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This Pinot, from the cool climes of the unsung region of North Canterbury, is downright sultry. This shows a dense nose of blue fruit, cherry, chocolate, baking spice and violets, while the palate slinks with tart cherry and earth, hugged by elegant, fine grained tannins and a long, chocolatey finish. Drink now–2022.
Editors’ Choice -
Wine & Spirits
Bold flavors of red cherry skins fill out the juiciness of this pinot noir. While the oak and the textural richness make it accessible and satisfying, it has a tension and persistence that brings out the depths of fruit flavor. It’s built to age for several years, then to serve with roast beef.
-
Wine Spectator
Bright and juicy, with supple, creamy tannins and a core of raspberry and cherry flavors. Details of spice, blood orange and cedar linger on the finish. Drink now through 2027.
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.”
On the central eastern coast of the South Island, Canterbury includes a collection of small and varied subregions. The region is cool and dry with low rainfall and light, infertile soils. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are well-suited here, with Pinot Gris coming in third place.