Winemaker Notes
Pyramid Valley's first assemblage from the different parcels across the Manata vineyard in Central Otago.
Deep crimson in appearance. A complex nose showcasing black cherry, black raspberry, baking spices, vanilla and earthy undertones. Juicy and ripe dark berries balanced by youthful freshness and acidity. Robust tannins offering depth, structure and aging potential.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Sweet cherry and strawberry with cedar, light tar and stone aromas along with some vanilla bean that follows through to a full body with round and polished tannins and a crunchy finish. A savory tone to the fruit makes this very attractive and enticing. Fine and firm tannined finish. Drink or hold.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Manata Pinot Noir is distinctly soft, rolling and round—it sort of flows across the palate in a liquid kind of way (despite the fact that it is, actually, liquid). It's all dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee grounds, black pudding, dark cherry, plum skin and bay leaf. This is a soft, pillowy wine that has magnitude and gravitas through the finish, which is a pleasurable offset. A red apple core at the heart of the wine keeps me coming back for more ... a good attribute in a wine. “Those dark characters may be the impact of the last five days of harvest, where we had strong warm northwest winds. It hit 30 degrees occasionally," says Steve Smith, MW.
-
Wine Spectator
A generous red, with flavors of plump black cherry preserves, blueberry and black tea that are fleshy and dense. Offers aromatics including palo santo, toasted cumin and oud on the finish. Drink now through 2037. 770 cases made, 168 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.”
Home to the globe’s most southerly vineyards, which are cultivated below the 45th parallel, Central Otago is a true one-of-a-kind wine growing region, but not only because of its extreme location.
Central Otago is more dependent on one single variety than any other region in New Zealand—and it isn’t Sauvignon blanc. They don’t even make Sauvignon blanc there.
Pinot Noir claims nearly 75% of the region’s vineyards with Pinot Gris coming in a far second place and Riesling behind it. This is also New Zealand’s only wine region with a continental climate, giving it more diurnal and seasonal temperature shifts than any other.
The subregion of Bannockburn has enjoyed the most success historically but the area’s exceptional growth has moved to the promising regions of Cromwell/Bendigo and Alexandra districts. Central Otago is known for its fruity and full-bodied Pinot noir. With the freedom to experiment here, growers and winemakers are easily exhibiting the area’s great potential.