Dark cherry, violet and cinnamon spice aromas complement red fruit, chocolate and subtle spice flavours on the palate. The fruit flavours are framed with supple tannins and a core of juicy acidity. This wine is immediately enjoyable but will continue to drink well for the next eight years if you can wait that long.

“Big Barrel’ refers to Steve’s unique roll fermentation method in big, 1000 litre French oak fudres. This results in agentle extraction of colour and tannins from the grapes and gives the wine’s magnificent texture. The picturesque hillside site in Marlborough’s Southern Whither Hill where the grapes for this wine are grown is a true hidden gem; a tiny block that's just right for a family operation like Steve Bird Wines. Here, it has produced a genuinely impressive Pinot Noir with earthy, spicy notes in support of the rich, dark-fruit aromas. On the palate it is deeply flavoured and lushly textured with supple, silky tannins. This is a superb partner for crispy duck breast. Variety: 100 percent Pinot Noir

Former Hardys Chief Winemaker Brian Croser, knows a thing or two about wine and it shows in the quality of wines this 5 Red Star winery produces. Intense and brooding, this sweet Pinot Noir has complex black fruit and a definite tannin structure that provides a savoury finish.

Bannockburn is spicy with well intergraded savoury oak and great acidity backbone. The varietal flavours such as, raspberries, strawberries and red cherries fruits lingers with a faint hint of forest floor on the palate with well supporting tannins. A greatly composed wine, this is undoubtedly pushing the setting of this country's benchmark for Pinot Noir to another level.

Paringa is one of Australia's best and most consistent Pinot producers. This wine shows superb varietal aromas of cherry, plum and spice, and the palate is long, textured and complex. With the ability to be cellared for the medium to long term, Lindsay McCall's Estate Pinot is a certainty to be included in any cellar of a great Pinot Noir lover.

Organically grown grapes from Tasmania have yielded a complex Pinot Noir with dried strawberry fruit characters and a satisfying savoury palate. Elegant and enjoyable Pinot from an up and coming producer!

Fromm's passion for Pinot Noir is reflected in the attention to detail shown in the vineyard and throughout the winemaking process. Carefully selected clones and rootstocks, together with intensive vineyard care and low cropping, means the vines produce fruit that illustrates the terroir in which they were grown. Today in the Fromm stable of vineyards there are eleven clones, 4000 - 5000 vines per hectare, with crop levels around five to six tonnes per hectare. The blend which makes up each years La Strada Pinot Noir by Fromm depends on what nature has given in each of their vineyards. Invariably, the wine is strongly varietal, fruity and has immediate appeal.

Nanny Goat Vineyard is the clear leader of the pack when it comes to affordable Central Otago Pinot Noir. Made in a fruit forward style with mounds of fresh berry fruit and intense lifted perfume notes of violet and blueberry. Still medium-bodied on the palate with soft, powdery tannin, this is a Pinot for the moment.

William Downie is young Australian Pinot Noir royalty. Learning his trade in the vineyards of Burgundy, Bill came back to Australia and set up his own label in Victoria's east, specifically in Gippsland. His wines are extremely limited in nature and Pinot lovers shouldn't waste any time in adding some William Downie to their cellars. The Gippsland Pinot Noir is wonderfully balanced with blackcurrant, blackberry and hints of clove and nutmeg. Beautifully dense and concentrated on the palate, lifted violets and florals shine through along with the inextricably long finish.

Dedicated solely to perfecting the variety, Black Grape Society have come mightily close to Pinot perfection with this Cromwell Basin sourced beauty. Deep and rich in flavour and colour, the juicy plum, cherry and blackberry palate make way for a ripe savoury finish.