Fruit for this lovely Pinot was selected meticulously, destemmed in stainless steel tanks, and subjected to wild fermentation. Post aging in French oak barrels for about 10 months, the wine was fined and bottled for release. Grasshopper Rock Pinot Noir 2014 shows a medium purple hue, with light pink highlights along the edges. The blissful nose gives off scents of dried herbs, mushrooms, red fruits and violets while the supple palate is packed with black and red cherries coupled with nuances of tobacco, spice and leather. The medium-weighted palate has a great structure and finesse, which mesh well with the fine and grainy tannins to provide a lengthy mineral finale. A suggested food pairing with this wine is smoked hoki.

The grapes for the wines that carry the Mt Difficulty Bannockburn label are subject to two strict criteria: they are managed under the umbrella of the Mt Difficulty viticultural team and must be sourced from vineyards situated on the South side of the Kawarau River at Bannockburn. This Pinot noir displays lovely elegance and flow with striking precision and clarity. On the palate it kicks off with a supple dark berry entry, moving into a beautifully textured plush mid palate, after which fine elegant textural tannins frame fruit and acidity on a lengthy finish.

The South Island of New Zealand is home to some of the worlds greatest new world Pinot Noir's and Central Otago can claim a large proportion of these. This superb Otago Pinot from South Island is an exotic light bodied red with wild fruit flavours of strawberry and ripe cherry and proves you don't have to break the bank to get great Otago Pinot Noir.

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.

Mud House have asserted a reputation for Pinot Noir in a crowded New Zealand marketplace by proving excellent varietal and terroir driven examples like this Golden Terraces Vineyard Pinot Noir from Central Otago at some great prices. With lifted aromas of dark cherry and berry fruit with underlying notes of mocha and cinnamon giving way to a sumptuous palate of bramble and spice characters with considerable length.

Freshly picked strawberries, raspberries and red rose petals on opening, followed by darker notes of black cherry, roasted star anise and cinnamon. The palate is juicy and soft, with fine tannins and bright acidity. A perfect and accessible snapshot of Central Otago.

The Amen Break Chinamans Terrace Central Otago NZ Pinot Noir has a wonderful dense deep red colour. romatics of red plum, black cherry and bunch-ý-derived Campari are pure and intense. The palate is a revelation - dense but bright, concentrated and with space. Pure Pinot Noir flavours are wrapped in fine filigreed tannins, which are layered and add many levels of complexity. A vibrant, vineyard derived wine, free of winemaking artifact and rich in authenticity.

Saddleback is the second label to Greg Hay's Peregrine and the Pinot Noir is made using fruit from the Gibbston and Cromwell Basin sub regions of Central Otago. Light, elegant with black cherry and plum fruit, held together by a fine tannin structure and refreshing acidity.