This unusual tasting consisted of pinot noir from Central Otago producers Rippon and Mount Edward. Like other fine winemakers, they are exploring the characters of individual blocks and vineyards, but their styles are quite different.
It was a fascinating comparison.
BEST VALUE
Three and a half stars (out of five)
Good value
This wine, a blend from Mount Edward's vineyards scattered around Central Otago, is bright with hints of cherry and mineral with warm, spicy oak undertones and a lingering aftertaste.
Four stars
Average value
Fragrant with hints of ripe, juicy plums and spice, underlying oak, an opulent, velvety texture, fine grained tannins and a delicious long aftertaste. This is a blend from vineyardsin Gibbston, Lowburn and Bannockburn.
Four and a half stars
Below average value
From Gibbston, this is fragrant, rich and dense with complex layers hinting of spice and roasted coffee, cherry plums, mineral, dark savory flavours, a silky texture and a long, vibrant,harmonious finish.
Three and a half stars
Average value
Made from vines younger than 12 in Rippon's vineyard at Wanaka, this hints of red fruits with a touch of roasted coffee and spice, the fruits nicely integrated with the dusty tannins. Drinking nicely now and good with food.
Four and a half stars
Average value
A tightly structured, harmonious wine with integrated fruit, hints of mineral, spice and savoury undertones, mouthfilling and textural with dry, dusty tannins, it is restrained at present but will develop with bottle age. A fine wine from older vines on Rippon's Wanaka vineyard.
Four and a half stars
Below average value
Emma's block is east-facing on clay and schist soils by the lake at the bottom of the Rippon vineyard. This wine is fragrant with warm spicy, savoury undertones, complex ripe fruit,mineral, licorice and pepper, a silky texture, fine chalky tannins and a long, elegant finish.
ANOTHER GLASS
Rippon Tinkers Field Central Otago Pinot Noir 2009, $95
Four and a half stars
Below average value
Tinker's Field is a broad, north-facing block on schisty gravel and is perhaps more textural than the silky Emma's Block. Juicy fruit is integrated with toasty spicy oak, a touch of roasted coffee and mineral. It is well structured with firm, fine-grained tannins and a long finish. Will develop with several years bottle age.
Mount Edward Morrisons Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2009, $65
Four and a half stars
Below average value
A big wine from Mount Edward's Lowburn vineyard, this is rich, concentrated and powerful with lots of juicy ripe plums, cherries, spicy oak and firm tannins, but despite its muscularity it's harmonious and velvety. Delicious.
Mount Edward Muirkirk Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir 2009, $65
Four and a half stars
Below average value
From a newly established vineyard in Felton Rd, Bannockburn, this is fragrant with rich cherry and plum fruit, a hint of mineral, licorice, toffee, complex and concentrated with dark,savoury undertones, a velvety texture and a long, harmonious, supple finish.
• Although wine sent for review is tasted blind to eliminate preconceptions, all wine tasting and evaluation is subjective. These are personal recommendations.
