One is from Te Muna, their Martinborough vineyard and another is from the Waitaki Station Vineyard. Three are from Central Otago - one from Zebra Vineyard in Bendigo and two from Bannockburn at the other end of Lake Dunstan, Bannockburn Sluicings and the Calvert vineyards, a stone's throw from each other. (For my tasting notes on these see Another Glass at www.odt.co.nz)
This idea stems from the notion of terroir, which maintains that fine wine reflects the particular site in which it is grown. It finds its ultimate expression in France in Burgundy's Côte d'Or, the home of pinot noir.
With more than a thousand years of winemaking and experience of the many individual parcels of vineyard, winemakers there will tell you that fine wine is an expression of the soil, aspect and microclimate of its vineyard.
Many winemakers in other countries dismiss the idea as a marketing ploy, saying that blending wines from various vineyards or regions can produce better, more consistent wines, and this can be true not only for the cheaper wines, but also for some of the great ones, like Penfold's Grange from Australia.
However, when it comes to fine wine, some winemakers and many enthusiasts embrace the concept of terroir, that the characteristics of wine of the same variety differ depending on where it is grown. That is why pinot noir from Central Otago can, in general, ask a higher price than pinot noir from, say, Marlborough.
Nevertheless, differences can be tasted between fine wines from individual vineyards with different soils and aspects, especially when tried alongside each other - as these five pinot noirs from Craggy Range demonstrate. This is the sort of thing that intrigues wine buffs who will happily taste and discuss the similarities and differences for hours.
But also, when vineyards become famous, it pushes the price and demand for the wine into the stratosphere. Now, wines from the famous Romanée-Conti or La Tâche vineyards in Burgundy (made from pinot noir) can be among the most expensive in the world.
