Mr Glover Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018 $42 I’ve said it before, but in case you missed the memo, for professional pinot people, Ben Glover is about as top-of-the-tree as it gets in this country. With ‘chief winemaker’ titles from Wither Hills, Mud House and Zephyr, and a past Chair of Pinot Noir New Zealand, … Read More
Pinot Noir
Norman Hardie Unfiltered VQA Prince Edward County Pinot Noir 2016
Norman Hardie Unfiltered VQA Prince Edward County Pinot Noir 2016 ($60) Canadian pinot noir isn’t something we see in New Zealand very often (much like appropriate footwear and eye protection when mowing the lawns, the correct use of hair straighteners or affordable house painters). So I get a tad excited whenever one lands on my … Read More
Doctors Flat Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016
Doctors Flat Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016 $49.50 The tiny, 3ha, organically-farmed Doctor’s Flat site in Bannockburn is composed of deep gravels laid down by receding glaciers 480,000 years ago. Shepherded into the bottle by winemaker/owner Steve Davies since the mid-2000s, in 2016, 27% of the hand-harvested fruit was popped into the tank as intact … Read More
Black Estate Netherwood North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2017
Black Estate Netherwood North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2017 $75 When I say this pinot noir brings the funk, I don’t mean the kind of funk occurring in the ‘used mats’ bin down the local Bikram studio, I mean freshly-turned-earth funky, old, seasoned leather funky, wild cherries and spiced rhubarb funky. Unfined and unfiltered, it’s cloudiness … Read More
Putangi Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019
Putangi Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019 $31 This new range of wines created by Greg Hay and his team at Wet Jacket Wines, is named after the trusty rowboat used by pioneer conservationist, Richard Henry, who in 1894 began ferrying as many of our endangered birds as he could find, from parts of Dusky Sound, … Read More
Neck of the Woods Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018
Neck of the Woods Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018 $38 Neck of the Woods is the brainchild of AJ Johnson, a long-time television industry professional who got the wine bug bad and set about securing sites that’d deliver pinot noir that wasn’t “mass-produced sh*t”. This vintage hails from two Bendigo vineyards, one on a flat … Read More
Mills Reef Reserve Marlborough Pinot Noir 2017
Mills Reef Reserve Marlborough Pinot Noir 2017 $23.99 If you’re able to get your hands on this vintage then you’re a lucky sausage – because there’s precious little available and yet it’s drinking SOOOOO (that’s 5 ‘o’s so it’s a banger) nicely. Smooth and cherry-driven, layered with black tea and cocoa and showing a luscious … Read More
Hunter’s Wines Offshoot Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019
Hunter’s Wines Offshoot Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019 $24.90 Young winemaker James Macdonald has really stretched the elastics out in his jumping game (any girl who grew up in the ’80s will get this) and this pinot noir is lush, plush, ripe and seriously, super-easy-to-sip. The texture is slightly powdery and darn noice (it’s a word) … Read More
Matahiwi Wild Holly Pinot Noir 2019 $45
Matahiwi Wild Holly Pinot Noir 2019 $45 (to be released) Crafted by winemaker Ben McNab, this new vintage of the ‘Wild Holly’ is a step off the footpath and into the rugged, tufty, terrain on the outside of the norm. Whole clusters of hand-harvested berries were sorted, gently transferred to an open-top fermenter, then punched-down … Read More
Lowburn Ferry Homeblock Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017
Lowburn Ferry Homeblock Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 $70 Grown on land that was farmed for over 160 years meant these grapes benefitted from soils rich in organic matter and good old dirt development – very unusual for the mostly glacial, loess soils of Central Otago. The grapes are packed with flavour, flirtiness and spice … Read More