NZ Pinot Noir

Fruit aromas of blackcurrant, dark cherries and plums unfold from the glass, combined with hints of dried herbs. The palate is very complex and enticing with a beautiful, smooth texture and a firm structure. Flavours of very ripe fruit, minerals, subtle leafiness and rosewood. The supporting role of the oak intensifies underlying dark chocolate and toasty characters.

Evocative by name and by nature; a wine with great structure thanks to 10% whole bunch fermentation adding depth to the smooth, deliciously savoury flavours. Black Rabbit Vineyard is made from grapevines grown on soils that are 400 million years old on a north facing site that was planted in 2002 at an elevation of 250 to 315 metres above sea level.

The high temperature variation between day and night lends the grapes an elongated window of ripening, which results in savoury notes, a full body and complex flavours of black cherries, a hint of cedar and savoury oak with smooth dark plum aromas and a smooth, long finish. 

The grapes were fermented with wild yeasts and given 21 days on skins and maturation in oak for a year prior to being bottled, unfixed. 

The grapes in this wine come from the Yarrum Vineyard on the Brancott/Ben Morven ridge, a hillside from which all grapes are hand harvested and fermented with wild yeasts and daily plunging. This rich, dark, full bodied and flavoursome Pinot Noir has huge structure and ability to age, with earthy notes and ripe dark fruit flavours. This is one of Marlborough?s top Pinot Noirs. Worthy of a decanter, a large glass and time to enjoy its complexity.

Earthy flavours and velvety texture make this impressive Pinot Noir one of the best from Martinborough and it comes from one of the region's first three wineries - Martinborough Vineyards.

Te Tera is made from Martinborough Vineyards? more youthful vines, which range between nine and 24 years old from a vineyard south of Martinborough village but within the region's stony wine 'terrace' appellation. This vineyard, situated on Frater's Road, produces grapes that lend deep aromatic flavours of dark cherries,  dried herbs and spices, all of which instantly grab your attention on the nose of this elegant Pinot Noir. The palate shows soft, rich fruit flavours with a hint of spice. 

The grapes in this wine were 100% destemmed and fermented with wild yeasts in open top tanks for approximately three weeks. Hand plunging is followed by gentle pressing to barrels for 10 months aging on lees in French oak, 15% of it new. 

This is a lovely wine that consistently delivers rewarding rich flavours held in a smooth silky texture. 

Holly is a gorgeous dark fruit expression of Pinot Noir made from a blend of grapes grown on top quality vineyard blocks at Matahiwi Estate in the northern Wairarapa. This vintage was a warm, dry one, which produced high quality grapes, which result in this beautifully balanced, full bodied, spicy and dark fruited Pinot Noir. Hand picked grapes and meticulous attention in the vineyard create great raw material which translates into a silky, gorgeous Wairarapa Pinot Noir to drink now. 

This is our pick of the super tasty bunch of beautifully fragrant, structured, lingeringly flavoursome Corafin Pinot Noirs and is from the Settlement Vineyard, which is situated in the Southern Valleys in Marlborough. It is an outstandingly concentrated, full bodied style of Pinot, proof that this country's biggest wine region is far from a one trick pony - and is also certified organic. 

Fabulous vintage (one of the best ever) in Martinborough for Pinot Noir and this is the flagship wine of the Wairarapa Wine Region and one of the best. Earthy, dark plums and cherries sit in a wine with lifted earthy aromas on the finish. A special wine for now and for the cellar. 

Drinks beautifully now and can age for up to a decade. 

Spicy new, medium bodied Pinot Noir with lifted aromas of red flowers, ripe plums and hints of spicy macerated cherries, all held together in a smooth, silky wine made by  Julian Richards with grapes from the Ashmore Vineyard, owned by Dog Point Vineyards. 

This wine was aged in a combination of older oak puncheons for 30% of the wine with the balance being in stainless steel. 

"I'm trying to express the fact that style can be one simple change in the winemaking technique and Pinot Noir is a beautiful way to express that."

The other wine made from the same vineyard by Richards is called Fractal Pinot Noir. Both come from the 2020 vintage, one of the best years this century. 

A laid back Pinot Noir with structure and a sense of lightness as the wine glides across the palate. 

This is made by winemaker Julian Richards, who buys grapes from Dog Point Vineyard's home black, the Ashmore Vineyard; an organically certified site. 

This wine is aged in older French oak puncheons (300 litres) for the 60 per cent of the wine with the balance in stainless steel. 

Whole bunch fermentation and foot crushing in tanks is followed by wild yeast fermentation to create interesting savoury flavours in the wine, which highlights a sense of smoothness and drinkability now and will hold for the next three to four years. 

SINGLE VINEYARD - PARKBURN VALLEY

DESCRIPTION:
The Pinot Noir from Viper Vineyard is crafted using grapes cultivated in the Grandstand Block, situated within the Viper Vineyard itself, nestled in the Parkburn region on the western shores of Lake Dunstan. This vineyard derives its name from the profusion of the wildflower "Vipers Bugloss" that blankets the surrounding area.

Perched upon an undulating terrace above the valley floor, the vineyard's soil predominantly consists of sandy loam layered over red clay fused with schist gravel. With the moderating influence of cooling daytime temperatures, the ripening process extends into the late season, imparting a spicy character to the wines, accompanied by deep fruit flavours and richness.

WINEMAKERS COMMENTS:
The wine exudes an aromatic and vibrant bouquet, showcasing notes of red cherry, pomegranate, and delicate, freshly bloomed florals. Fresh red fruit notes and herbal undertones rest on a foundation of silky tannins, evolving into a refined and enduring finish. Pronounced mineral nuances and acidity harmonize to create an invigorating and confident balance.

A unique parcel within Rippon, Tinker's Field is a gentle, north facing slope formed by an ancient ejection cone of coarse schist gravels and is home to the oldest vines on the property. It is named after Rippon's visionary founder, Rolfe Mills (Tink to his friends), and the land that he had dreamed of farming since childhood.

The Main Divide is the name of the majestic Southern Alps, which form the back bone of the South Island, and it is also the name of a range of great value wines which consistently over deliver on depth of flavour and complexity for the price. 

This Pinot Noir is made 100% from North Canterbury grapes, 25% of which were whole bunch fermented with natural yeasts. The wine was given a week long, post ferment maceration in French oak, approximately 20% new.

It's a weighty, earthy style with lively dark and red fruit flavours. It delivers big time for the money.

Whitehaven Wines began life in 1994 as a romantic business for a couple of corporate escapees, Sue and Greg White, who had given up life in the rat race of Auckland for another kind of life aboard their yacht. When sailing around the country, they took shelter in the Marlborough Sounds from Pacific storms and fell in love with the region. An easy thing to do when harbouring in the spectacularly pristine waters of the Sounds. They decided to settle there on terra firma once more and try their hands at wine production, hiring a winemaker and beginning a business which has now been around for 26 years. Greg has sadly passed away now, leaving a legacy as well as his wife and daughter, Sam, to run the winery. Their winemaker is Peter Jackson.

Taka K is the brainchild of Japanese born, North Canterbury based winemaker Takahiro Koyama, who has launched this fabulous new expression of Pinot Noir from the windy climate of Canterbury. Hot days, cool nights and thoughtful winemaking combine in this wine which has a medium body and intense flavours of smoked mushrooms, wild earth and a hint of thyme beautifully intermingled with red cherry aromas and dense plummy softness. 

Like diving into a velvet cushion in the glass. Need we say more.

The grapes in this wine were grown on an organically farmed vineyard on the eastern side of the Waipara Valley, North Canterbury. The vineyard has clay rich soil with a limestone influence and is undergoing transition to become certified organic. All grapes were fermented in open top fermenters with wild yeasts followed by ageing in French Oak barrels (no new oak) for about 10 months, then racked and blended into stainless steel tanks prior to the bottling without any fining or filtration.

The total production was 560 cases.

One per customer please - thank you

A silky, elegant, structured and commanding wine, which drinks well now and can age for the medium to long term. The biodynamically farmed Calvert Vineyard is home to both Pinot Noir and a smidgeon of Chardonnay and is situated on Felton Road in Bannockburn, Central Otago. This vineyard lies just below the hills of the Bannockburn gold sluicings and makes beautiful wine, one of Central Otago's most consistently highly rated Pinot Noirs every year with its great fruit purity. approachability and aging potential.

A great investment in your cellar.