Winemaker Notes
This is a complex and concentrated wine which is perfect for drinking immediately. With careful cellaring this wine will continue to develop for years to come. It has a dark glossy garnet core with purple hues on the rim. A concentrated nose with black cherry, wild blackberry and sweet ripe raspberry, complemented by aromatics of violets, dried thyme and a touch of spice. A luscious and elegant full palate with delicious black fruits - boysenberries, blackberries, and blueberries. A refined, elegant structure supports a rich complex toasty finish with spice and amazing length. Beautifully matched with duck casserole, rare venison steaks or warm pumpkin and feta salad.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
This offers a good mix of fresh, ripe raspberry and cherry flavors, with details of forest floor, black tea, cigar box and nutmeg, finishing with nuances of warm baking spices and a touch of firmness. Drink now through 2025.
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.”
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.