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Felton Road really is a fine winemaker. This is its regular bottling and what a wine, with lush, dark cherry and mysterious foresty aromas. It's very ripe and rich and the palate has intensity and drive, with fresh acidity keeping it all singing.

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.

As often happens with Calvert, the nose when young is slightly muted and more direct than exotic; pure and fine aromas, not bold and lush. The palate follows on accordingly, with clarity of fruit, roses and florals. Focussed, concentrated yet pure in the mid-palate, with its hallmark mineral texture, its firm but ultimately juicy on the finish. The vines are growing up and were seeing the puppy-fat turn to muscle.

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.

Two vineyards were established in the Bendigo sub-region: The Prophets Rock Home Vineyard and, subsequently, the Rocky Point. Both are steep and elevated, and each is distinctive The Home Vineyard with its rare mix of soils, including schist, clay and chalk, and Rocky Point with its stony ground and almost treacherous slopes. Rich ruby in colour, displaying red berry fruit, spice and floral aromas on the nose leading on to an elegant well-structured, mineral driven palate. The rich aromatics are accompanied by silky tannin and well-balanced acidity leading on to a long finish. This wine will reward cellaring over the next 6-10+ years from vintage.

The dried raspberry, lemon curd and Asian pear flavours are crisp and detailed, with notes of white flowers, five-spice powder and toast leading to a long, lingering, juicy finish. Offers an appealing mix of power and finesse. Drink now.

Award winning Central Otago Pinot noir from New Zealand. Violets and cherries have leading roles with hints of thyme. The palate shows youth with a generous fruit weight.