Winemaker Notes
Pair Mt. Beautiful Pinot Noir with Miles Davis, rare roast beef and horseradish sauce, hard salty cheeses like Pecorino Romano or moussaka on a rainy night.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
There's a radiance to this wine that reflects its unique, ultra-cool-climate region. A gravelly, stony mineral note appears at first sniff, but give it some aeration in glass and it fleshes out with plump red berries, white pepper and potpourri. Tart cherry acidity adds tang to the midweight palate. It's tightened up by herby, distinctively textured tannins that conjure the sensation of licking gravel. The red fruit wins out, though, lingering on the finish. Drink now–2028.
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Wine Spectator
Firm notes of black cherry, wild blackberry and plum show oolong tea, fresh earth and crushed pine needle details. A slight chalky note on the finish creates an appealing punctuation point. Drink now. 8,700 cases made, 5,200 cases imported.
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.