2014 is the inaugural release of Colleens Paddock Pinot Noir. It features a restrained, brooding and beguiling nose with hints of cranberry, sour cherry, wild raspberry, earth, stalks and charry oak. The aristocratic palate weaves an uncommon melange of toffee fruits, herbal flavours and savoury elements through fine, integrated tannins and delivers an elegant, luscious, velvety mouth feel. It combines lightness with richness and density with great length and persistence of flavour.

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.

Thomas Bouley is very much the insiders secret, more famous with his fellow vignerons than with collectors chasing the next 'superstar' seen on social media. That Thomas resists putting his name on the front label of his wines (preferring to keep his father's) is typical of his humble and low key approach. Based in Volnay may also add to his relative anonymity, however we suspect this is changing rapidly as word gets out of just how spectacular his wines are, and of the continual improvement seen since he began working with his father in the early 2000's. Meticulous attention to detail in both the vineyard and winery are notable here, and key to why Thomas is so highly regarded by his peers. Yields are moderate, and in the cellar whole cluster ferments are used more with his clay rich sites (Pommard Fremiers, Volnay Clos des Chenes), while those with thin white soils (Pommard Rugiens-Hauts, Volnay Caillerets) are largely destemmed. New oak use is minimal, and each wine spend two winters on fine lees before bottling.

Cuveé Aux Antipodes is the meeting of two winemakers from the two hemispheres. The old world represented by François Millet of Chambolle-Musigny, Burgundy, where he has made wine since 1986. The new world, by the site - the Prophet's Rock Home Vineyard in Central Otago, and its winemaker Paul Pujol.