Mt Difficulty is one of Central Otago's oldest and most prestigious vineyards. Having tamed the rugged region since 1992, Mt Difficulty produce wines of utmost character and charm. Their Roaring Meg Pinot Noir shows lovely perfumed blackberry and dark cherry fruits along with a hint of spice. On the palate the wine has a sweet berry character along with balanced, ripe textural tannins that rise gracefully out of the mid-palate to finish the wine.

Rockburn Pinot Noir is a ripe, fleshy pinot noir with black cherry, blackcurrant and toasty oak flavours. Good concentration and a silken texture with powerful sweet fruit flavours driving a lengthy finish.

Quartz Reef Pinot Gris exhibits flavours of ripe pear, peach and marzipan with a rich texture and an off-dry mineral finish. Colour is lemon gold. Aroma is nutmeg, honey, ginger and white peach. The palate is rich and textural with a delicious fine acidity. Cellaring is 3-5 years.

Dog Point is responsible for some of Marlborough's best Pinot noir. This release has lifted aromas of dark cherries stone fruit and violets. The palate is rich and complex with a supple velvety texture.

Aged for 12 months in French oak barrels. Deep dark red core with black tinged edges and a dark red hue. Spicy red to dark cherry aromas mix with hints of stalky cedar, earth and meaty notes. On the palate generous dark cherry fruits are intertwined with strawberry, earth, spicy dried meat characters and dried herbs. Good flesh with slightly grainy tannins and a savoury medium length conclusion. Drink over the next 3-4 years. Alc. 13.5%

This vintage has produced a Pinot Noir displaying ripe rich aromatics; perfumed black fruits of the forest dominate the aroma and these are underpinned by lovely clove, anise and other brown spice notes. The wine displays lovely elegance and flows 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. Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Pinot Noir will improve for 7-10 years given optimal vintage and cellaring conditions.

The Main Divide Pinot Noir shows aromas and flavours of cherries and red berry fruits with impressions of raspberries, mulberries and blackberries. There are also savoury hints of grilled mushrooms, black olives and roast game. Ripe fine grained tannins give it structure and length, but these are covered with a velvety robe, leaving impressions of dark chocolate and spice. While drinking beautifully now, it will continue to develop over the next few years in bottle.

The enticing Mysterious Diggings Pinot Noir shows a bright purple-red hue, and offers scintillating aromas as well as juicy flavours of red cherries. These flavours and aromas integrate with fresh and clean fruit characters on the dense palate, to provide a soft texture, as well as a long and enticing finale. With a cellaring potential of 1 to 6 years, this delicious red wine tastes amazing with mushrooms, fruit-based sauces and roasted chicken.

Grove Mill Pinot Noir is rich ruby red in colour, with a nose full of dark cherry and boysenberry and a touch of spice. A savoury complexity and a smooth finish make it the perfect match for barbequed meat with a roast beetroot salad.

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.