Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
Very aromatic with a lovely floral rose petal and dried lavender aroma. There is quite a bit going on here and the influence of reduction and whole bunch plus rich new oak could overwhelm a less concentrated wine. But there is so much fruit to support the end result is a supremely engaging sumptuous pinot.
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James Suckling
Fresh red currants, wild strawberries and rose hips followed by zesty citrus peel and cedar. Medium-bodied, refreshing acidity and firm yet finely-grained tannins. Underlying complex and savory minerality of mushrooms and wet leaves on the palate and finish. Serious depth and length. Piquant and zesty. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Decanter
From the southerly Last Chance vineyard. Intense red fruits – ripe strawberry, red cherry, redcurrant – with dried thyme amid the garrigue woody herbals. Lively acidity and a long finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Last Chance Vineyard is in the hills above Earnscleugh (pronounced "earn-skloo") and is a relatively bony site fed by the Last Chance water race and hand dug by the early gold miners in the 1860s. It's a special spot, one that I drove to so I could get a clear understanding of the Earncleugh Valley layout. So, this 2021 The Last Chance Pinot Noir is, like all the Proprietor's Reserve Pinots, around 80% whole bunch, and each of the sites wears this differently. This is the first cuvée where the whole bunch is evident in the wine, and it creates a capacious mid-palate, drawing out length on the finish. It's a special wine—they all are—and one that, via the stems (I never say this, as stems can sometimes work against the expression of terroir), seems to speak of the wild place.
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.