Biodynamic Pinot Noir from the Pisa Range in Central Otago. This is Burgundy meets Otago in style, with dark cherries and herbal spice notes on the nose and a medium palate of further dark cherries, licorice spice and nutty oak elements. Acid, tannins and fruit all in balance and delivered in a lush velvet mouthful.

Pair with duck, pork beef and lamb over the next four years.

This outstanding expression of Pinot Noir comes from one of the smallest wine regions in New Zealand, the cool climate Waitaki Valley in North Otago. 

Flavours of ripe plums, red cherries and a very subtle but noticeable smoky aroma all intermingle in this beautifully complex Pinot from the outstanding, if challenging climate in Waitaki - a tiny and great quality wine region. 

A super tasty, super smooth Pinot Noir made from grapes grown in Martinborough and vinified in Hawke’s Bay at Clearview Estate. This is a superb red fruited wine with its lively and youthfully fruity Pinot summer berry flavours. It’s great value for a wine that just sneaks in under $30. Clearview Estate Winery in Hawke’s Bay sourced grapes from Ferry Road in Martinborough to make this tasty Pinot Noir and this is the second time it’s been produced (2019 was the first). The wine was made at Clearview Estate with about 40% whole bunch fermentation, all wild fermented followed by aging in French oak, 18% new, for a year. 

About Clearview Estate

Clearview Estate is one of oldest, most well established wineries in Hawke's Bay and is situated on the Te Awanga Coast, south of Napier. It's a great place to visit for tastings at the cellar door as well as lunch in the dappled shade of the established courtyard area. The winery was founded by Tim Turvey, winemaker and co-owner. The current winemaker is the multi talented Matt Kirby.

Lovely lighter Pinot Noir but with earthy depths of flavour that marry nicely with plum, cherry and spicy notes, made from northern Wairarapa winery Matahiwi Estate, which uses a blend of grapes from its vineyards to produce this medium bodied, beautifully red fruited wine. Notes of spice and fresh summer berries add layers of interesting flavour to this lively, beautifully balanced wine. It's great value for money. 

Fromm -  "A bright and pure Pinot with good fruit weight and sweet spicy undertones. Layered and harmonious with a structural complexity yet offering lovely drink now approach-ability."

Framingham Pinot Noir puts the silkiest foot forward for Marlborough Pinot with its seductively smooth textural qualities balanced beautifully by depth of red and dark cherry, plum and spice notes. 

WINE MAKING

Fruit was sourced from three sites in the Wairau Valley.  60% of Clones 95 and 40% of Mendoza were used.  No sulphur was added to the juices at the point of extraction which then were fermented spontaneously in a combination of seasoned French oak (90%) and stainless steel (10%).  

TASTE

Aromatics of ripe yellow citrus, nectarine and brioche.  A finely textured palate with an array of flavours from Meyer lemon to stone fruits with a lively acid to savour.

FOOD MATCH

All kinds of soft cheeses, white meats and rich seafood such as koura (crayfish) and smoked warehou.  

ACID: 6.5 g/l
pH: 3.48
ALC: 13.0%

Dice is a New Zealand first - a wine with a vintage which is high quality, fun and funky in a 2-litre box, which puts a new spin on the well known theme of convenience because this wine is all about quality, no holds barred. A blend of Pinot Noir grapes from several vineyards in Bannockburn is used to create this superlative, deliciously good Pinot Noir with its bright bold cherries and ripe fruit flavours underpinned by a medium body and smooth texture in a wine with a long finish. 

Impressive and iconic Pinot Noir from North Canterbury with commanding firm tannin structure and deep savoury flavours. Rich, ripe red and black plum aromas lead into a structured beautiful wine with spicy notes and earthy depth of flavour. This wine is unfined and unfiltered, which means it is ticks the vegan box and also may have some sediment. It also adds depth of flavour to this lovely Pinot Noir.

Pyramid Valley wines has a new lease of life following the untimely passing of its founder, Mike Weersing, whose insights and dedication to biodynamic winemaking providing an inspiration and impetus to the industry. The 2019 vintage provided ripe grapes which went into this full bodied, rich, ripe and savoury expression of Pinot Noir. It was bottled unfined and is vegan. 

Dry, savoury and earthy style of Pinot Noir with delicacy and power from grapes grown on Craggy Range's windswept and beautiful Te Muna Road vineyard, 9 kilometres east of the Martinborough village. 

Hand picked grapes from the Te Muna Vineyard were fermented in a combination of French oak cuves and open top stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts. The finished wine was matured in French oak barriques, 22% new, for 10 months. No fining but a coarse filtration results in a satisfyingly savoury dry Pinot with tension and backbone. A stunner now and for the cellar. 

Prima Donna is the top Pinot Noir and best red from Pegasus Bay Winery, made from a blend of barrels tasted by the winemaking team and chosen for their quality and superior style. It is produced by Mat Donaldson and his winemaking team, who aim to create the most complex and balanced Pinot Noir possible in this wine, which is part of Pegasus Bay’s reserve series wines. 

Traditional Burgundian winemaking sees the inclusion of approximately one third of the grapes in this blend fermented as whole bunches. The maturation is in French oak, approximately 45% new, for 18 months, using oak barriques from selected artisan Burgundian coopers.

This wine drinks well now and can also age superbly for 10 years and further, in cool cellar conditions.

* Prima Donna Pinot Noir is produced only in vintages regarded as exceptional quality. 

Dry, dark and full bodied fleshy black plum flavours with a beautiful silky textured mouthfeel. This single vineyard Pinot Noir is made from  hand picked grapes grown on the Wrekin Vineyard in the Southern Valleys, Marlborough. Most of the grapes were destemmed with a small portion of 15% whole bunches to add structure and weight to the wine, which was fermented warm (up to 31 degrees Celcius) then transferred to French oak, 27% new for 10 months of ageing. This wine has hints of smoky flavour with a rich, dense earthy aroma leading into beautiful dark fruit flavours of plums and black cherries.

Whitehaven Wines began life in 1994 as a romantic business for a couple of corporate escapees, Sue and Greg White, who had given up life in the rat race of Auckland for another kind of life aboard their yacht. When sailing around the country, they took shelter in the Marlborough Sounds from Pacific storms and fell in love with the region. An easy thing to do when harbouring in the spectacularly pristine waters of the Sounds. They decided to settle there on terra firma once more and try their hands at wine production, hiring a winemaker and beginning a business which has now been around for 26 years. Greg has sadly passed away now, leaving a legacy as well as his wife and daughter, Sam, to run the winery. Their winemaker is Peter Jackson.

Winemaker Rudi Bauer uses winemaking techniques very much in keeping with the practices of the Old World, with an obvious nod to Pinot's spiritual home in Burgundy.

The results are a deep, warm wine with inviting perfumed ripe pinot aromatics, both stylish and emotional. The palate is vibrant and lively with great body and spicy minerality that holds defined tannins of Bendigo intensity.