This new vintage is un-fined and unfiltered, so you’re simply getting pure flavours of cherry, baked strawberry, wild thyme, tamarillo and hedgerow fruit notes. Grown in the desert-scape of Bannockburn’s Cairnmuir Road, this is a gorgeously gamey, elegant pinot noir with soft, fruit leather layers and deserves to be consumed by pinot noir lovers across … Read More
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French Peak Banks Peninsula Pinot Noir 2016
French Peak Banks Peninsula Pinot Noir 2016 $30 Beautifully aromatic, floral and perfumed with exotic spices and hints of wild game, cherry cola, juicy redcurrant and even has that flavour of those red, loveheart lollies that you buy in a classic pick n mix selection. Super-complex and ready to rumble! www.frenchpeakwines.com
Urlar ‘The Mediator’ Gladstone Pinot Noir 2016 $32.50 (4 stars)
I love that the back label of this wine says to ‘put away until the cosmos tells you to enjoy it’ although I think it’s one to definitely be enjoyed now. Produced organically and biodynamically by Angus Thomson and their talented team, this is a bright-as-a-button pinot noir, bursting with cherry, raspberry and rosehip tea … Read More
Escarpment ‘Noir’ Martinborough Pinot Noir 2017 $30 (3 stars)
This is Larry McKenna’s (or Larry McPinot as he’s affectionately known) first foray into organic, minimal intervention, ‘natural’ winemaking and its, it’s ok. Unfined, unfiltered and minus any additions like sulphur (to prevent premature oxidation), this wine was fermented in a clay amphorae and left on its skins for around 9 months before being pressed … Read More
Brodie Estate Martinborough Pinot Noir 2011 $27.50 (4 stars)
Seven years on from vintage and this wine is at peak. The great thing is that it’s beautifully made and at under $30 is a bargain. Seriously juicy and woven through with wild strawberry, cherry and hints of pepper, it’s also got black tea and cranberry characters which lead to a long, tangy, spicy finish. … Read More
Urbn Vino Central Otago Pinot Noir 2016 $40 (4 stars)
While the fruit might originate from the barren, schisty landscapes of Bendigo and Bannockburn, the resulting wine actually has ‘city kid’ written all over it. Crafted by Brendan Seal in Dunedin’s central city, ‘urban’ winery, it has soft cherry and berry characters, earthy layers, a slippery, silky texture in the mouth and a decently dusty, … Read More
Ostler Caroline’s Waitaki Pinot Noir 2016 $50 (5 stars)
Located on the cusp of South Canterbury and North Otago, Waitaki is an extreme place, like the last frontier for winegrowing, because it’s such a harsh environment. Jim Jerram however, is like the Gandalf of grape growing down there, and occasionally, when the weather gods shine on him, he’s able to eke out enough precious … Read More
Quest Farm Grand Central Pinot Noir 2014 $28 (4 stars)
If silky, slippery, spice-saturated pinot noir for under $30 is your jam then get the good glasses out of the cabinet and get ready to pour. Crafted by Mark Mason (one of the founders of Sacred Hill) and viticultural consultant Michelle Crawford, this frisky four year old has buckets of moody, broody cherry and boxwood … Read More
Giesen The Brothers Marlborough Pinot Noir 2016 $29 (4 stars)
Scooping silver at the NZ International Wine Competition is no mean feat, but this intensely cherry and berry-focused pinot noir hits all the sweet spots. Succulent, juicy mildly spiced and nicely balanced, there’s an earthy, generosity with this wine that I really like. www.finewinedelivery.co.nz
Wet Jacket Central Otago Pinot Noir 2015 $39
Named by owner Greg Hay after Wet Jacket Arm in Fiordland National Park, it harks back to nature always having the upper hand. Well the grape gods were smiling on the fruit for this vintage, because its intensely luscious forest floor aromas burst out of the glass and do macarena with cherry, raspberry liquorice, redcurrant … Read More