New release Pinot perfection from 2020 vintage
Posted by Joelle Thomson on
One of our favourite full bodied Martinborough Pinot Noirs is back in store and it's a tasty new vintage from 2020, which was a superlative year in the small, arid wine region of Martinborough. This little region is a Pinot Noir stronghold. This great red remains the most planted grape in this region, even if Sauvignon Blanc is catching up.
Martinborough is home to approximately 1,100 hectares of producing vineyard land and is the southernmost, driest wine region in the North Island. The dry weather really came into its own in 2020, a summer in which water restrictions came into full force in January and continued through to the drought that ensued just around the time that harvest began. This made for excellent quality, ripe grapes which were disease free and have produced stunningly good Pinot Noirs.
Te Kairanga Runholder
Te Kairanga winery was founded in 1984, making it one of the earliest wineries in the region and it has a long history of great Pinot Noirs.
Where does Runholder come from?
Runholder is made with grapes grown on the Te Kairanga Home and McLeod vineyards, which were destemmed grapes then fermented in stainless and aged in French oak for 10 months for structured, smoothness and a velvety texture.
It's bone dry with .29 grams of residual sugar per litre and it is made from seven clones of Pinot Noir: Abel, 777, 6, 5, 115, 667 and 828.
Winemaker John Kavanagh has a long history of making great Pinot Noirs, both in Martinborough where he has headed up TK for the past decade and previously at Neudorf Vineyards in Nelson.