Dry River Pinot Noir
Although this Pinot noir's deep purple colour is not necessarily an indication of quality, its intensity is a magnificent and seductive feature. The usual Dry River aromas of Christmas spice, pipe tobacco and plum are all in attendance. Initially this wine seems savoury, dark and brooding but elegant red berry and raspberry characters are not to be missed. This tension between dark and light, spice and fruit, opulence and restraint is a result of the blend of the three vineyards, Dry River, Craighall and Lovat with all three contributing their specific vineyard characteristics to the final wine. The juicy, sappy and dense fruit fills out the palate providing a full and fleshy mouth-feel. The acidity provides focus and a thoroughfare for the wine towards the back with a dapple of oak influence for support and additional complexity. While transparent tannins are no hindrance to the front palate, the soft nature of this wine is not to be misjudged.
Louis Latour Aloxe-Corton 'Domaine Latour'
Paul Pillot
Castello della Sala Pinot Nero della Sala
Brewer-Clifton Machado Pinot Noir
Valli 25th Anniversary Pinot Noir
Product Information: The 25th vintage in Gibbston delivered idyllic conditions providing the opportunity to make exceptional wines including this commemorative cuvee from their own Estate, one that beautifully articulates in the glass everything Grant and Jen love about Gibbston Pinot Noir. This slightly warmer season shows density and concentration with amazing finesse; perfume; fragrance; fine tannin; bright fruit and delectable earthiness. The wines receive 25% whole bunch, there's 25 days of total maceration. The wine spends 11.5 months in 29% new oak by Ana Selection and François Frères. Maker: Valli is the personal vocation of pioneering winemaker Grant Taylor a name that's synonymous with Otago Pinot Noir. He has been crafting wines there since 1993 when there were only 20 ha planted – today there are over 2000. Grant founded Valliin 1998 with the intention to produce single vineyard Pinot Noirs highlighting the different characteristics of Otago’s sub regions. More than 20 years later, Valli is doing just that, producing single-vineyard pinot noirs from Gibbston, Bannockburn, and Bendigo in Central Otago and the Waitaki Valley in North Otago, as well as a dry Pinot Gris from Gibbston and a Riesling from Waitaki. In 2015, established Otago winemaker Jen Parr joined Grant in the winery, where the two aim to create wines with honesty, integrity, and most of all, a sense of place. When you drink a Valli wine, you are enjoying more than just a wine: you are experiencing a place. Vineyard: Just off the Gibbston Highway in Central Otago, this vineyard embraces a semi excellences a semi-continental climate, at altitudes ranging from 320 to 475 meters, the vines thrive with a composition of Dijon clones. They draw sustenance from alluvial loess atop firm river gravels and colluviums, while being free draining. Planted in year 2000, managing a relatively dense 4,040 per hectare the yields are kept to a low 5 tonnes per hectare. Producing wines of extraordinary character and depth of flavour. Nose - Herbaceous, Raspberry, Sweet Spices The nose is elegantly presented, with a whiff of medicinal/ herbaceous nuance, unfolding Bing cherry, strawberry, raspberry, hibiscus, vanilla and spices. Palate - Cherry, Hibiscus, Thyme Medium-bodied aromas of strawberry, cherry and raspberry intertwined with hibiscus, vanilla, and cinnamon, along with thyme, vine leaf and a suggestion of liquorice. Ripe acidity laces the palate, and dusty tannin lightly adorns and carries a captivating closing. A graceful Pinot Noir shows deep nuances and balanced spice on a refined, dusty mouthfeel. Finish - Briary, Licorice, Savoury Wood Spices A graceful Pinot Noir shows deep nuances and balanced spice on a refined, dusty mouthfeel.
Felton Road Block 3 Pinot Noir
Felton Road is responsible, to a large extent, for putting Central Otago on the world Pinot Noir map. The wines are, well not so much fruit-driven, as perhaps turbo-charged! Amazing levels of red fruits, a subtle yet important savoury component, along with the silky texture all Pinot enthusiasts long for. This single-block wine shows how different portions of a single vineyard can still have a quite unique character, or what the French would call terrior.
Dexter Black Label Pinot Noir
Amisfield Pinot Noir
Central Otago is regarded as the best for NZ Pinot Noir. Ripe bouquet of satsumas, plum & meat. Firm soft tannins.
Felton Road Calvert Pinot Noir
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.