I’ve recently read a speech given by winery owner Nigel Greening at Pinot Noir NZ 2025, earlier this year in Christchurch. Part of his message was the need to build gateways rather than fences, to make wine accessible rather than exclusive. There are still too many people (particularly young people) who find wine daunting. From the language, the minutiae of grape variety, vineyard, region etc, to the concept of cellaring, it can all seem a bit impenetrable. It’s not a question of dumbing wine down, rather, taking it off its pedestal and putting it on the table surrounded by friends and family where it belongs. Opening the door to sharing the pleasures of wine and embracing a bit of its hedonism. I’ll drink to that! 2022 Chard Farm Mata-Au Central Otago Pinot Noir Price RRP $55 Rating Very Good to Excellent Delicacy, swelling as it opens out. Red fruits, earth, spices, carrying those characters on to the palate. A finer style that has that sense of pinosity rather than trying to be a fruit bomb. The tannins launch a stealth attack, a corset to the wine, hand in hand with the zesty acidity, creating a whole that feels like a perfect match with food. www.chardfarm.co.nz 2022 Moko Hills Bendigo Pinot Noir Price RRP $59 Rating Excellent to Outstanding A smokey nuance, sweet tobacco, wild rose florality, mineral, a deeper register to the fruit, an impression of a drier style. Lovely depth, dry fruit pastille, herb, stony mineral, elegant and serious rather than a fruit bomb. With air, an earthy character, a little intrigue and wildness, that earthy, savoury quality resonates through the palate. Fine, chewy tannins bring it to a close. Super. www.mokohills.co.nz 2024 Nanny Goat Central Otago Pinot Noir Price RRP $44 Rating Excellent Raspberry drops, plays the subtlety card but there’s good things going on. Perfume swelling, a backdrop of herb, cherry influences, a touch of toasty char. Real crispness, ‘upright’ driven by the zesty acidity and fine (almost grainy) tannins with fruit richness its equal. Shows its youthful vibrancy, juicy nicely structured, bright piquancy. With food now, or a little time in the cellar. www.nannygoatvineyard.co.nz 2023 Nanny Goat Single Vineyard Queensberry Pinot Noir Price RRP $72 Rating Rating Outstanding An engaging smidgen of humus, fruit lozenge, darker fruits, cherry, schist characters, a deeper register, picking up savoury hints, each swirl offers more. Silky texture on entry then powerful, chewy grip shows its intent. Mixed berry fruits, a stony quality, sweet fruit yet a lovely, dry finish. Screams potential. Now wild herb, forest floor, so many layers of flavour. Super long close. www.nannygoatvineyard.co.nz 2023 Penkridge Farm Central Otago Pinot Noir Price Price RRP $42 Rating Very Good to Excellent Fragrant, red fruit pastilles, cooling herbs/almost mint, a little minerality, bright and welcoming. A real juiciness to this, freshly squished berries, brimming with flavour, medium weight, and while youthful you could open this with abandon. Sweetly fruited, oak spices, now showing its backbone, perhaps not massively complex but who cares when it’s just so darn drinkable. It’s the sort of wine that begs another glass. www.penkridgefarm.co.nz 2023 Nanny Goat Central Otago Pinot Noir Price RRP $44 Rating Excellent to Outstanding A whisper of funk parts to show wonderful depths of darker fruits underpinned by savoury notes with flecks of herb, schisty mineral in the mix too. Youthfully expressed, a cooling, zesty quality, graphite, fine yet grippy tannins. Pinosity in its medium weight, the fruit depth perfectly in balance, while it it flows to a fine, chewy close, the flavours hanging long in the mouth. The nose tightens a little with air, just reinforcing its youthfulness. www.nannygoatvineyard.co.nz
