Winemaker Notes
The deep, indigo ink in the glass is immediately alluring. This continues through the nose and the palate, embodying everything there is to love about Pinot Noir. Ripe blueberries, soft leather, fine cocoa tannins. A rich, velvety mouthfeel with a classic "Moutereness." Although full of flavor and body, this wine is enduringly elegant, refined and as all wine should be, refreshing.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
There’s attractive, ripe red cherries and berries on offer here with some handy flesh on the palate that fills out softly with red-cherry and red-plum flavors. Acidity holds the finish nice and fresh.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Pinot Noir Tom's Block is light in hue but fragrant, with lovely herb-accented aromas of strawberries. It's juicy and mouthwatering on the palate, with a silky texture and a lingering finish. It's a top-flight effort but quite delicate in style. Drink it over the next few years.
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.”
Rolling hills evolve from a scenic coastline to form an ideal setting for Sauvignon Blanc vineyards. Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay rank in after New Zealand’s prized varietal as most widely planted in Nelson. The region is slightly cooler and has more precipitation on average compared to Marlborough.