Pinot Noir

A rich and complete Premier Cru Pinot Noir from Volnay in Burgundy. Clos de la Barre is a Monopole (i.e. exclusively owned by Jadot). Grown in a real clos that is surrounded by high stone walls, it produces a more assertive wine than other Volnays, with ethereal spice and mineral tannins detailed amongst slightly richer, riper fruit. With serious character, this powerful and structured wine is built to improve with age. This is a superb offering from Louis Jadot.

Aroha is the Maori word for love and plenty of TLC has gone into tending the grapes that go into this full bodied Pinot Noir from the Te Muna Valley in Martinborough. 

This is the pinnacle Pinot Noir made by Craggy Range and represents a wine that can age superbly as well as drinking well now; preferably decanted. 

Red and black cherry flavours are supported by gentle smooth French oak ageing.

Tasting Note: Deep and complex bouquet of red cherry and sweet raspberry, pomegranate and hints of fresh zesty blood orange. Full-bodied yet extremely elegant, fine-grained but present tannins, minerally, youthful acidity and hints of Five Spice and a deep core of cool, vibrant fruit, lovely length, and persistence. Cellar 12 to 18 years.

Winemaking Notes: Harvested 9th April 2016, bottled 15th February 2018. Hand-picked and carefully selected 100% Abel Clone Pinot Noir grapes. All de-stemmed, cold-macerated and fermented in small batch stainless steel vats and left on grape skins for 4 weeks. Aged in 100% new French oak barriques of the Bourgogne Tonnelleries Rousseau, Remond and Meyrieux for 20 months. No fining and only light filtration before bottling.

?With a slew of red-berry and spicy nuances, this is a super-elegant pinot noir with very fine tannins that are now almost perfectly resolved. Extremely long, polished and mineral finish of the kind you expect from Grand Cru red Burgundy with some age. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.? ? James Suckling, January 2022

?Plenty of spiciness to the hibiscus, ripe-cherry, strawberry, oyster, mushroom and earth aromas. Smoky, too. Full and dense. Then it changes to dried cherries with some citrus, closing up nicely with freshness and intensity. Needs time to open. First bottling of this. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. Better after 2024.? ? James Suckling, October 2022

Certification: Organic

Alcohol: 14.0%

Variety: Pinot Noir

Region: Wairarapa, New Zealand

One of the finest vineyards in Volnay, the Clos des Chenes offers elegance and typicity. The vineyard lies in optimal position on the mid-slope, with the famous Taillepieds beside it and Caillerets below. Unlike both of these Clos des Chenes has a full sun-facing, southerly aspect. This enhances ripeness and fruit flavours, while well-draining limestone soils and cool nights preserve acidity for this classically elegant, fresh and subtly complex red. Ageworthy yet approachable in nature, this is a beautiful Volnay for the decanter or cellar.

About Felton Road

Felton Road winemaker Blair Walter and owner Nigel Greening (who bought the winery in 2000) are a formidable team producing elegant, powerful southern Pinots from their estate vineyards, all now organically and biodynamically certified. 

They specialise in producing limited bottlings from their different vineyard blocks and sites in Bannockburn, Central Otago. Block 3 Pinot Noir is one of these and is one of the most age worthy, with the ability to drink well in its youth but evolve superlatively for up to (potentially beyond) a decade. 

Kotinga is one of four single vineyard Pinot Noirs made by Ata Rangi from 2020; a great year which was dry and warm with a long autumn and was also the first time single vineyard wines were produced in this way. 

This bright fruit scented wine is made from the Dijon Pinot Noir clones of 115, 667 and 777, which give it aromas of cherry, red currant and plum stone, which set the scene on the nose. The palate opens with a flourish of supple tannins uplifted with fluid acidity. Flavours of grapefruit and juniper spread through to the end of the palate.

Aged in a 2280 litre foudre (very large oak barrel) instead of the traditional 228 litre barrique, to highlight and retain the bright crunchy qualities of Dijon clones grown on gravels. This is a delightful wine and unique expression of Martinborough that is playful now and will also reward cellaring.

Named after the dominant weed growing on the vineyard that this wine comes from, Earth Smoke is a complex, medium bodied expression of the great Pinot Noir grape with flavours of cherries and spice held in wine with great depth of flavour and a long finish.

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.

Silky smooth, fleshy Pinot Noir from Mondillo wines in Bendigo, Central Otago. This wine is made from hand picked grapes and is a velvety Pinot Noir with a deep  colour, concentrated fruit purity and power, offering great cellaring potential.

Dom Mondillo describes the 2019 Bendigo growing season as having calm and cool spring conditions, which continued throughout flowering, providing clusters of small even berries with ripe concentrated flavours. All grapes were hand harvested and matured for 18 months in one year old French oak barriques.

Kupe is made entirely from Escarpment's home block first planted in 1999 on Te Muna Road. The alluvial gravels on the Martinborough Terrace provide a distinctive character that sets a benchmark for New Zealand Pinot Noir.

Winemaker's notes

Near perfect growing conditions led to exceptional fruit that was handled with great care to help retain balance and elegance. 100% Abel clone picked over two days; the fruit was fermented in open top fermenters using indigenous yeast. They were hand plunged once daily for a total vat time of 31 days.  After pressing, the wine was aged in 42% new French oak barriques for 19 months, creating a wine with ripe flavours and full tannin. Bottled without fining or filtration, promoting soft mouth feel and balance, and every priority afforded during its elevation, showing all the hallmarks of a grand young Pinot Noir on release, July 2023. 

Tasting

Crimson red with a deep dark core. Lifted and fragrant, offering all the grace and poise Pinot can give, with an alluring charm. This is a wine that is both subtle and beguiling, yet bold and brooding. It is lifted and fragrant with perfume and spice, along with cascading red and black fruits that offer an array of flavours and complexity. Always evolving in the glass, it has a core of dark fruit with dried porcini mushrooms and cured meat that work in harmony with the floral notes and savoury accents. It is the classic iron fist in a velvet glove. A firm tannin profile rounds out the opulent fruit profile to combine excellent texture and reward patience for cellaring up to 20 years. Match with rich red meats, duck or traditional Christmas lunch with the trimmings. Serve at 16?C.

History of The Escarpment Vineyard

Larry McKenna was one of the first winemakers in Martinborough and has had a pivotal role in pioneering Pinot Noir in New Zealand. He was born and bred in Australia and began winemaking in the Wairarapa region at Martinborough Vineyards in the early days of modern New Zealand wine. In 1999 he founded The Escarpment Vineyard on Te Muna Road, a dramatically beautiful valley which is nine kilometres east of the Martinborough township. 

The Escarpment Vineyard was purchased by Torbreck Wines in South Australia in 2018 and Larry remains at the helm with winemaker Tim Bourne. 

Top wines

The Escarpment Vineyard Pinot Noirs are highly collectible wines, especially the four top tier, single vineyard editions, the pinnacle of which is Kupe - named after Nga Waka-o-Kupe, which is three flat topped hills on the Aorangi Ranges. These distinctive hills resemble upturned canoes, the Maori name for which is kupe, hence the name.

2022 SNAKE'S TONGUE PINOT NOIR

Season summary
Warm spring conditions resulted in steady growth with flowering early- December. The new year brought both rain and snow leaving a dusting on the ranges, but thankfully warm, dry weather followed through to harvest resulting in perfectly ripe fruit. Veraison took place at the beginning of February and harvest commenced in April.

Tasting note
Bright ruby hue. Complex, alluring nose of dark fruits, cherries and cloves, invoking forest floor and wild thyme. A powerful wine with flavours of complex red fruits and game meats. The mouthfeel is plush and silky, while the structure unfolds into a juicy and evocative expression of this very special piece of land.

Viticulture
From the Snake’s Tongue parcel planted in 2007 at Manatu Estate in Lowburn, Central Otago. Abel clone meticulously farmed to the highest standard in its third year of organic conversion producing stellar fruit. Soils are predominantly loess over deep silts that have developed pedogenic lime deposits. Harvest date: 12 April 2022

Winemaking
33% whole bunch with the remainder gently de-stemmed to maintain a high percentage of whole berries. Fermented using wild yeasts in an open top concrete tulipe fermenter for 21 days. Aged in French barrels for 12 months, 30% new oak, then blended and aged for a further 6 months in oak prior to being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Chemical Analysis
Alcohol: 13.5% pH: 3.82
TA: 4.6g/L SO2: 55ppm
Suitable for Vegetarian/Vegan: Yes
497 cases of 6 x 750ml bottles produced.

2022 FIELD OF FIRE CHARDONNAY

Season summary
Under the influence of La Nina, the vines had good growth and good flowering conditions which resulted in solid yields. 200mm in February had us on edge, but diligent viticulture and a dry March and April allowed us to hang the fruit out till the end of April and achieve optimum ripeness. The resulting wines are an elegant expression of our Waikari farm.

Tasting note
Green lemon hue. Complex nose of minerals, flint, lemons and limes. Taught yet rich and concentrated, flavours reminiscent of lime and samphire. Fine and compact phenolics frame the wine and drive the long, moreish, mineral finish.

Viticulture
Planted between 2000-2002 at 11,111 vines/ha and a second planting in 2018, farmed biodynamically from inception. This unique, south-east facing site has varied soils, graduating from top to bottom on the slope, through primarily shallow (10-15cm) glauconitic clays over well drained limestone. Harvest date: 29 April 2022.

Winemaking
Crushed and soaked for 4 hours prior to pressing. Wild ferment, in aged
French oak barrels. 12 months on lees in barrel, then aged on light lees for
5 months in stainless steel prior to bottling unfined and unfiltered in
September 2023.

Chemical Analysis
pH:3.3
Alcohol: 13%
TA: 7.0g/L SO2: 50ppm
Other additives: None
Suitable for Vegetarian/Vegan: Yes