Chard Farm Finla Mor Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019 $42 Clearly the gods were happy with the Chard Farmers because they’ve given them a blessed vintage in 2019. Sourcing fruit for the Finla Mor from fruit grown in the deep schist soils of Lowburn and Parkburn subregions of Cromwell, the vineyards are hand harvested in … Read More
Central Otago
Carrick Organic Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018
Carrick Organic Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018 $45 This bolshy, bold, Bannockburn Pinot Noir is rockin’ and ready for action. A touch rough around the edges, medicinal, peppery, roast cherry and rhubarb-induced astringency and herbaceousness. There’s a hefty whack of spice, a slightly feral, funky texture and it’s very much a puppy that needs time … Read More
Carrick Organic Central Otago Pinot Noir Rosé 2020
Carrick Organic Central Otago Pinot Noir Rosé 2020 $28 If you’re expecting something soft and fruity then you’ll need to pull the rope and hop off the bus because this organically crafted, crunchy-fresh Pinot Noir-based rosé is raspingly dry and laced with the kind of minerality you’d get should you opt to lick freshly crushed … Read More
Tankersley Estate Central Otago Rosé 2019
Tankersley Estate Central Otago Rosé 2019 $19 Richard Tankersley’s tiny Central Otago estate has just appeared on our radar. Grown in his little pozzie (is that the right way to spell ‘pozzie’? – who knows) in the nooks and crannies of the mighty Pisa Range up on the Cromwell-Wanaka Road. Crafted from 100% Pinot Noir, … Read More
Rockburn The Art Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019
Rockburn The Art Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019 $96 It’s hard to think of a more appropriate name for this supremely scented wine. It’s art. It really is. Creating a wine so multilayered and complex it could be a Jackson Pollock painting in a bottle. Pomegranate, raspberry, cherry, redcurrant and tamarillo combine with black tea, … Read More
Carrick Organic Central Otago Sauvignon Blanc 2019
Carrick Organic Central Otago Sauvignon Blanc 2019 $25 Paired with Salmon, potato, green olive and fennel tray bake (dish issue 97 2021) It’s the piquancy (love that word) of the green olives and the herby-anise-y notes in the fennel which make this dish sing with the Carrick Central Otago Organic Sauvignon Blanc 2019 ($25). With lemongrass, … Read More
Kalex Alex K Five Boroughs Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019
Kalex Alex K Five Boroughs Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019 $19.99 Back in 2004, New York natives the Beastie Boys released their monster hip-hop album To the 5 Boroughs in praise of their city. Eleven years later, Kalex releases its first Five Boroughs pinot in homage to the five sub-regions of Central Otago they source … Read More
Doctors Flat Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017
Doctors Flat Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 $49.50 I checked and it was almost exactly to the day that I published my review of Steve Davies, 2016 Doctors Flat Pinot Noir on this site. He fired through a bottle of the shiny new 2017 as soon as it was ready and far out am I … Read More
Te Kano Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018
Te Kano Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018 $49 The international buzz for this wine is the equivalent of pouring Phar Lap, Lorraine Downes, Rod & Rach, Richie McCaw, LOTR and Lucy Lawless into a bottle and basking in the glory. Boasting concentrated cherry, powerful plum, saucy spices and dried herb complexity, it’s no wonder it … Read More
Domain Road Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019
Domain Road Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019 $40 Sourced from two vineyards in Bannockburn, their Defiance site on Felton Rd and their Domain Road site, the grapes are lovingly watched over by Fiona Johnson before being handpicked, destemmed into stainless steel, fermented then aged in French oak barriques (30% new) for around 10 months. The … Read More