Mount Brown North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2017 $21.99 I first tasted this wine in April 2018 and upon recently re-tasting it, I had to adjust my notes because it’s maturing into something rather sensational. Bright crimson in the glass and bursting with redcurrant, wild strawberry, raspberry and cherry notes on the nose and palate, … Read More
Pinot Noir
Blank Canvas Escaroth Marlborough Pinot Noir 2017
Blank Canvas Escaroth Marlborough Pinot Noir 2017 $49 Here’s a wine showing total class and elegance and you should own it immediately because that’s you in a nutshell right? Grown by Andy and Kyna Laurie, in their dry-farmed, north-facing Taylor Pass vineyard (named after the fictional lake town where the elves in The Hobbit sourced … Read More
Pegasus Bay Aged Release Prima Donna Waipara Pinot Noir 2009
Pegasus Bay Aged Release Prima Donna Waipara Pinot Noir 2009 $120 I think the ‘Aged Release’ program that the team at Pegasus Bay have created (in order for people to be able to enjoy what a perfectly cellared, 10yo wine tastes like) is a joyous thing for muppets like me who didn’t manage to get … Read More
Universe Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018
Universe Central Otago Pinot Noir 2018 $34.99 The heat trap that is the ancient glacial soils of Alexandra is responsible for this baked cherry, leather and prune-packed pinot noir. New to the market, and crafted in a completely vegan fashion, it’s a savoury, spice-fest of a wine boasting gentle, fleshy tannins, soft, medicinal notes and … Read More
Chard Farm Mason Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017
Chard Farm Mason Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 $79 Very different to Chard Farm’s other single-vineyard wines and sourced from a high-altitude site in the Cromwell basin, winemaker John Wallace has created a spice-saturated wine that has a leaner, statuesque, tuxedo-wrapped profile with dried herb and seriously savoury elements. Pepper, redcurrant, olive, leather, and … Read More
Chard Farm Viper Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017
Chard Farm Viper Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 $79 From a tricky, back-to-front harvest season, the pinot noir from Chard Farm set solid form. Sourced from their Viper vineyard located in the Parkburn area on the western side of Lake Dunstan. The site takes its name from the wildflower ”Vipers Bugloss” that carpets the … Read More
Chard Farm The Tiger Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017
Chard Farm The Tiger Central Otago Pinot Noir 2017 $79 Wine match for Annabel Langbein’s Prosciutto & Bocconcini Pizza (Canvas NZHerald sat 14 2019) Prosciutto is my drug of choice. I can’t help myself when it’s around. If I see it on a platter I snaffle it, on hors d’oeuvres, get in my belly, and … Read More
Sacred Hill Single Vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Sacred Hill Single Vineyard Marlborough Pinot Noir 2018 $27.99 Brand new from one of New Zealand’s best-loved brands, is this ‘single vineyard’ range which includes chardonnay and syrah to join this little lovely. This pinot noir is juicy juicy juicy. And despite its relatively pale colour, it heaves with cherry, wild raspberry and red fruit … Read More
Askerne Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2016
Askerne Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2016 $22 This is a wine that really benefits from some ‘swirl-time’ in the glass. It may appear a tad closed when first poured, but lordy be, y the time you get to the second half of the glass, she’s a disco queen. Dried herbs, baked cherry, all manner of … Read More
Jules Taylor Marlborough Pinot Noir 2018
Jules Taylor Marlborough Pinot Noir 2018 $29.99 Subtle yet wild-at-heart aromas of cherry and baked raspberry leap out of the glass and in the mouth it’s got that ‘young wine’ friskiness that comes with high acidity – yet there’s an underlying savouriness and structure that supports the ability to age. But right now it’s a … Read More