Many 2008 pinot noirs are making their way on to wine shop shelves, but a lot of them will benefit from at least several months of bottle age.
As I tasted these over a day or two, the best developed more charm, mellowness and layers of flavour.
Besides the wines reviewed here, this tasting included several single vineyard wines from Bendigo and Bannockburn in Central Otago - check out Another Glass below for reviews.
Montana Reserve Marlborough Pinot Noir 2007
(about $23, but look for it on special)
At two years old, this is drinking well, with mellow fruit hinting of strawberry, a juicy texture with savoury background and lingering finish.
- Three stars (out of five)
- Good value
(about $28)
A young wine with hints of beeswax, raspberries and cherry plums with oodles of oak and a firm, crisp finish.
It may mellow with a little more time in bottle.
- Three stars (out of five)
- Average value
(abouty $30)
An attractive, lush wine with soft, overly ripe, sweet fruit, oozing cherries, strawberries and boysenberries, supported by darker tones of toasty oak, and finishing with a firm, spicy grip.
- Three stars (out of five)
- Average value
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(about $35)
Lush fruit with juicy hints of strawberry, plums with a suggestion of creamy chocolate and a crisp, tingly but firm finish.
A young wine that will benefit from a few more months in bottle.
A new Central Otago label from the Kerruish family and partners' small vineyard at Bendigo.
- Three stars (out of five)
- Below average value
(about $40)
One of five single vineyard pinot noirs made by Craggy Range, this is attractively fragrant with oodles of juicy ripe fruit - strawberries, cherries and plums with underlying savoury hints of mineral, toast and spice and a beautifully balanced, long aftertaste.
Delicious now but it will develop more complexity and harmony with bottle age.
- Four stars (out of five)
- Average value
(about $40)
A big, spicy wine that makes a statement, dense with fruit and lots of toasty oak hinting of dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla and honey.
It's perhaps more impressive than charming, but if you enjoy big pinots, this is for you.
- Four stars (out of five)
- Average value
~ ANOTHER GLASS ~
Craggy Range Otago Station Vineyard Waitaki Pinot Noir 2008
(about $40)
This hints of cherryplums, red fruit and herbs, with a bright, peppery edge and juicy finish.
An elegant wine with potential to develop with bottle age, it shows the coolness of this site compared with the other Craggy Range pinots.
- Three stars (out of five)
- Below average value
Craggy Range Bannockburn Sluicings Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008
(about $50)
With all the charm and suppleness of youth, but also with dense flavours, dark cherries, even turkish delight and honey, but with a brooding, savoury background of spicy oak and freshly ground coffee, this wine takes time to open, but its balance, elegance and length mark it as particularly fine.
- Five stars (out of five)
- Average value
Craggy Range Calvert Vineyard Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2008
(about $50)
This wine is distinctly more plush, silky and intense than that from the nearby Bannockburn Sluicings vineyard.
With typical ripe dark cherries characteristic of Bannockburn pinot, it hints of dark chocolate, a backbone of toasty oak and fine-grained tannins cushioned by the seductive fruit.
- Five stars (out of five)
- Average value
Craggy Range Te Muna Road Vineyard Martinborough Pinot Noir 2008
(about $40)
Closed with a cork instead of a screwcap like the other four pinots from this producer, this wine got better and better on successive days, indicating its potential for ageing.
With flavours towards the red fruits (strawberry, raspberry and plum) end of the spectrum, a mineral, herby edge and a suggestion of beeswax, it is silky textured, intense and long.
- Five stars (out of five)
- Good value
www.craggyrange.com
Wycroft Forbury Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2008
(about $28)
This wine from Lawrie Bryant's vineyard in Wairarapa is named after his ancestors' former family farm at Forbury in Dunedin.
A lighter style with bright fruit hinting of cherry plums, a savoury suggestion of oak and a lively peppery edge, it is available by mail order although much of it is exported.
- Three 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.
- charmian.smith@odt.co.nz
