Pinot noir is rarely inexpensive, although given the economic situation there are often discounts.
For around $20-$25, expect to find pinot noir with simple red fruit flavours backed by hint of spicy oak and a crisp, clean finish. These tend to be lightish but good with food.
Around $30 you hope for a little more complexity and perhaps a little more structure, but usually it's not until you get into the $40+ price point that you expect to find layers of flavour and complexity, finer tannins, and the ability to develop with a few years bottle age. These are wines to savour and linger over.
Rua Central Otago Pinot Noir 2008
(about $25)
This is Akarua's entry level pinot, with hints of plums and a suggestion of spice and chocolate, and a firm finish.
- Three stars (out of five)
- Good value
(around $22)
A simple but attractive wine with hints of cherries, plums and spicy oak, with a herby edge and a crisp, fresh finish.
- Two stars (out of five)
- Average value
(around $28)
A light wine with sweet fruit, hints of toffee and spicy oak and a pleasant, slightly nutty finish.
- Three stars (out of five)
- Good value
(around $29)
The first vintage from Steve Harrop and Fenella Barry's vineyard in Grants Rd, with a label designed by Oamaru artist Donna Demente.
At present this is a light, restrained wine with a delicate pepperiness, a suggestion of red fruit, toasty oak and mineral, with a hint of licorice on the finish. It may develop with a little more age.
- Two stars (out of five)
- Below average value
(around $45)
A dark, brooding fragrant wine with hints of roses, cherries, beeswax, spicy oak and smoky bacon.
It's restrained and youthful but the layers of flavour, silky texture, charm and long finish promise to develop into a richer, fuller wine. Worth cellaring for a year or two.
- Four stars (out of five)
- Average value
(around $45)
This wine got better and better on successive days, developing from a fragrant but tight young wine to a beautifully poised one, showing layers of flavours - bright cherry plums, hints of mushrooms, spice and mineral, all melded with suggestions of toffee, vanilla and toasted nuts, and a long, savoury, satisfying finish.
Two or three years bottle age will allow it to develop its full potential.
- Five stars (out of five)
- Good value
ANOTHER GLASS
Akarua Gullies Central Otago Pinot Noir 2007
(around $37)
Akarua makes several pinots, but I often prefer the Gullies to the more expensive, bigger and showier Cadence ($45).
Gullies is attractive, drinking nicely now with zingy hints of strawberry and raspberry, hints of cocolate and toast and a lingering finish.
- Three stars (out of five)
- Average value
Rocky Point Central Otago Pinot Noir 2008
(around $32)
A still slightly gawky wine, this little brother of Prophet's Rock hints of apples, herbs and spice, and has a bright mineral edge and a crisp, slightly astringent finish.
Give it a little longer to mellow.
- Three stars (out of five)
- Average value
Pegasus Bay Waipara Pinot Noir 2007
(around $47)
A bigger wine from Waipara north of Christchurch, this oozes spice and plums, smoky bacon, toast and chocolate with a savoury, gamy hint, and an almost crunchy texture and long finish.
Over a day or two it opened to reveal its rich complex flavours indicating great potential for cellaring.
- Four stars (out of five)
- Average value
• Two stars - simple, clean, enjoyable wine; three stars - good wine with varietal characteristics; four stars - very good wine with some outstanding characteristics; five stars - outstanding wine with balance and harmony that leaves you with a sense of wonder.
- Although wine sent for review is tasted blind to eliminate preconceptions, all wine tasting and evaluation is subjective. These are personal recommendations.
