Winemaker Notes
A pure expression of Central Otago in the glass; an expressive nose and deeply fruited palate displaying vibrant notes of red and black cherry, rich mocha, and supple, silky tannins leading into a very long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Classic Otago Pinot aromas of black cherry, earthy spice, dried florals, petrichor and shiitake mushroom billow from the glass. The mouthfeel is smooth and satiny. Flavor, tannin and acidity meld together and make for seamless sipping. This is an understated and utterly lovely Pinot for drinking now and over the next several years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 vintage represents COVID-19 in all countries around the world, and it was a unique time in all of our lives for different reasons. The 2020 Pinot Noir came from a cool vintage with some challenges brought on by temperatures dropping so low that ripening didn't conclude in some blocks. As it turns out, one solitary Pinot Noir from the 2020 harvest made logistics a little easier to manage. This wine is fresh, mineral and vibrant, with strawberry and cherry, pomegranate pearls and a sprinkling of ground pink peppercorns.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: My geeky wine group always touted Central Otago Pinot Noirs. I have tasted and enjoyed plenty of them and was wildly impressed with I visited the area and tasted the wines on site. TASTING NOTES: This wine shines with aromas and flavors of black fruits, spice, licorice, and oak. Pair it with lightly-seasoned, grilled beef. (Tasted: July 27, San Francisco, CA)
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.