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Pegasus Bay have about a dozen different clones of Pinot Noir. With their original plantings, these grow intermingled throughout the various blocks. The vines, many of which are nearly 30 years old and on their own roots, grow on a series of north facing, gradually descending terraces. Traditional Burgundian winemaking methods are used. Bright ruby colour. Its generous aromas and flavours dark cherries, blackberries, raspberries and mulberries, suffused with chocolate mocha and spice. There is an underlying savoury character, suggesting grilled meats and mushrooms with a hint of black olive tapenade. It is seductively light on entry but rapidly expands on the palate to become rich and mouth filling, while retaining elegance and poise. Silky tannins help draw out its lingering aftertaste.

An intriguing aromatic mix of warm spices, dried herbs, dark red rose petals and dusty cherries. Craggy Range Aroha Pinot Noir is complex and well integrated with fine oak and tannins, which provides the structural backbone.

Driven to create one of the new world’s great cool-climate vineyards, it took Mike and Claudia Weersing 15 years and a quixotic global journey that included a lengthy stopover in Burgundy before they found their perfect site. Inspired by the climate and soils of that region, the duo finally found their special place in the limestone-rich soils of Waikari in North Canterbury. From here Mike and Claudia established Pyramid Valley and emerged as NZ pioneers of both biodynamic practices and high-density viticulture. For almost 20 years they inspired and/or challenged all those who came into their orbit. Their minute scale and exceptional dedication to their soils and vines led to some incredible wines being produced. First visiting the vineyard in 2007, Steve Smith MW (then of Craggy Range) was one of many affected by what he describes as one the most compelling and unique vineyards he has ever visited. When Mike’s health went into decline, the Weersings were forced to sell and Smith and his partner Brian Sheth acquired the estate in late 2017. The spectre of Burgundy is writ large over the foundation and ethos of Pyramid Valley, yet we should not expect imitations in terms of the style of the wines. Rather they have their own very distinctive style and energy, and this is precisely as it should be with terroir-driven wines; uniqueness is the point. In 2018, Pyramid Valley became a two-property estate when it purchased the Manata vineyard in Central Otago’s Lowburn sub-region. The team quickly applied their precise viticultural standards to what was already considered one of the greatest sites in the region. In just three years, Paulin and his team have doubled the organic matter in the soil and achieved organic certification through BioGro NZ. They also immediately recognised the potential of the block they now call Snake’s Tongue—a nod to one of the many common names used for blue borage: Viper’s (snake’s) bugloss (ox-tongue). Fermented in an open-top concrete tulip, with 25% whole bunches and as much whole berry as possible, the wine matured in 25% new 500-litre puncheons for 12 months, followed by a further six months in neutral oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

The Bin 389 style evolved as a result of experiments, by Max Schubert, in the 1950s to develop a highly individual wine using a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz with compatible oak treatment. Bin 389 combines the elegance of Cabernet Sauvignon with the richness of Shiraz and demonstrates the traditional Penfolds' trademark - balance between fruit and oak, giving the wine character and longevity.

The flagship white wine from Hardy's, the Eileen Hardy has become one of Australia's benchmark Chardonnays. Complex, elegant and very much cool climate in style it drinks superbly now and will only improve.

JEAN-NOEL GAGNARD Santenay 1er Cru Clos de Tavennes , Santenay