Hunter’s is one of the reliable names in value-for-money pinot noir, and this release is particularly flattering in elegance and finesse. Low alcohol and finely textured, chalky tannins provide space for focused cherry, red berry, herb and pepper flavours to dance with light-footed grace. $23 at Discount Wines.
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Vine age elevates pinot noir more dramatically than any other varietal, and magical things are happening here as the vines reach ten years of age. Purposely more elegant in style, it leads out with subtle violet perfume. The palate is finely textured and chalky, with impressive length and accuracy of dark cherry and plum fruits, […]
readSpy Valley has been circling at an ever-higher orbit with each passing year, this year reaching all new levels of control and balance. Firm, finely structured tannins provide a rigid chassis for long-lingering, deep black fruits. $22 at Bellevue Hill Bottle Shop.
readThe first fruits of Martinborough’s 2011 vintage flatter the higher acidy and lower alcohol of the season. This is a spice-accented and fruit-focused style of rhubarb and mixed spice, attractively textured and persistent. $27 at Wine Box Warehouse.
readNever has a more captivating pinot noir emerged from the revered Dog Point cellar, thanks to an ever more focused regime that hones in on every detail. Vineyard clones have been refined since 2006, yields are stringently moderated and the harvest is sorted prior to cold soak, wild ferment and maturation in French oak (half […]
readCloudy Bay has captured a particularly pretty and complex expression of Marlborough’s signature red-fruited pinot noir style. Classic red cherry, strawberry and raspberry fruit is accented with rose hip, pink pepper and notes of forest floor. A wine of linearity, persistence and firmly structured tannins that promise great things over the coming decade. $34 at […]
readThis was the finest pinot in the room at the recent New Zealand tasting (and I gave all ninety a thorough work-out!). A particularly strong vintage for one of the star performing estates of the region, producing a particularly refined wine of brilliant complexity, sniper-like focus, seamless line and sensational length. It swirls with black […]
readMy score changed three times over 48 hours as I tasted this wine, ever upward. On opening, the palate showed assertive structure of firm, fine, savoury tannins of near Burgundian proportions, its oak and fruit tussling in structural tension. In time, a core of red cherry fruit burst from its brittle shell, blossoming into a […]
readIntroducing one of the finest wines yet to emerge from Mt Difficulty, one of just an handful of grande marques of New Zealand pinot noir. There is a purity and delicacy on display here in rose petal and violet perfume, sour red cherries, black cherries, underlined by the savoury complexity of brambles, sage and forest […]
readThe highest in altitude and latest harvested of Mt Difficulty’s single vineyards also enjoys the largest proportion of whole bunches in the ferment, lending notes of exotic spice and dried herbs. These take some time to emerge from such a focused, precise and coiled Target Gully. As one of the later released Central Otago pinots, […]
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