Exceptional North Canterbury Pinot Noir made in small volumes from the evocatively named isolated hill vineyard in Waiau. Spicy aromas and structured tannins lead into a full body wine made using indigenous yeast fermentation and spending 26 days on skins with ageing for 15 months in French oak.

This wine comes from winemaker Dom Maxwell, the talented winemaker at Greystone. Forager is his own personal winemaking project. 

This is drinking beautifully with silky mouthfeel and ripe red cherry fruit as well as dark plum flavours; a gorgeous wine with earthy depths of flavour. Stunning new release from the Huntress, winemaker Jannine Rickards, who uses 40% whole bunch ferment in her Pinot Noir - a winemaking method that enhances structure and adds grapevine tannin to wine rather than relying on oak for weight in the wine. This is the fourth vintage of Huntress Pinot and is made from On Giant's Shoulders Vineyard; it's a blend of four different clones of Pinot Noir;  10/5, Abel, 828 and clone 5.

Delicious, made in small volumes, get in quick. 

Gamey, savoury, deliciously refreshing Pinot Noir from Martinborough's next new big thing - Te Muna Valley, a dramatically majestic sub region for grapes that is situated 9 kilometres east of Martinborough village. 

Big Sky Wines is on the high alluvial terraces of Martinborough's Huangarua River at Te Muna, 9 kilometres east of the village. Low yielding deep gravels, hot days and cool nights result in wines that are deep and complex. This is their flagship wine from a low vigour, low cropping vineyard.  Hand picked, crushed into two tonne open fermenters with 10% whole bunch fermentation and minimal crushing and with wild fermentation followed by 12 months in French oak, 12.5% of which was new. And therein lies the beauty of this insanely delicious Pinot Noir with its ripe berry fruit flavours of dark cherries and plums, balanced by mouth filling savouriness, warm spice, and silky tannins. 

The Big Sky story

Jeremy Corban and Katherine Jacobs founded Big Sky Wines in the Te Muna Valley, Martinborough, in 2005. They have since expanded their small vineyard, which is predominantly planted in Pinot Noir and also has a little Sauvignon Blanc, which they give extra textural complexity to with a little time in old oak on lees. 

Pinot lovers will adore this spicy, earthy and juicy medium bodied Pinot Noir from Marlborough's Southern Valleys, where elevated hillside vineyard sites benefit the early ripening Pinot grape. This is a great red with structure and impressive flavours for drinking now and also for cellaring, if willpower allows.

Celestia is the apt name for one of Martinborough's most structured, serious and age worthy Pinot Noirs made using 100% whole bunch fermentation, a technique that adds structure and depth to the wine. This is the first vintage of this wine is from the superlative 2020 vintage and name comes from the big sky views from Big Sky Vineyard in Te Muna Valley, Martinborough. Celestia Pinot Noir is made with 100% whole bunch fermentation in seasoned puncheons with ageing for two years. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered. The result is a very perfumed wine with aromas of rosehips, black tea, black fruit and undergrowth, with a dense and dark palate, fine tannins and a satiny texture.

The Big Sky story

Jeremy Corban and Katherine Jacobs founded Big Sky Wines in the Te Muna Valley, Martinborough, in 2005. They have since expanded their small vineyard, which is predominantly planted in Pinot Noir.

Evocative by name and by nature; a wine with great structure thanks to 10% whole bunch fermentation adding depth to the smooth, deliciously savoury flavours. Black Rabbit Vineyard is made from grapevines grown on soils that are 400 million years old on a north facing site that was planted in 2002 at an elevation of 250 to 315 metres above sea level.

The high temperature variation between day and night lends the grapes an elongated window of ripening, which results in savoury notes, a full body and complex flavours of black cherries, a hint of cedar and savoury oak with smooth dark plum aromas and a smooth, long finish. 

The grapes were fermented with wild yeasts and given 21 days on skins and maturation in oak for a year prior to being bottled, unfixed. 

The grapes in this wine come from the Yarrum Vineyard on the Brancott/Ben Morven ridge, a hillside from which all grapes are hand harvested and fermented with wild yeasts and daily plunging. This rich, dark, full bodied and flavoursome Pinot Noir has huge structure and ability to age, with earthy notes and ripe dark fruit flavours. This is one of Marlborough’s top Pinot Noirs. Worthy of a decanter, a large glass and time to enjoy its complexity.

SINGLE VINEYARD - PARKBURN VALLEY

DESCRIPTION:
The Pinot Noir from Viper Vineyard is crafted using grapes cultivated in the Grandstand Block, situated within the Viper Vineyard itself, nestled in the Parkburn region on the western shores of Lake Dunstan. This vineyard derives its name from the profusion of the wildflower "Vipers Bugloss" that blankets the surrounding area.

Perched upon an undulating terrace above the valley floor, the vineyard's soil predominantly consists of sandy loam layered over red clay fused with schist gravel. With the moderating influence of cooling daytime temperatures, the ripening process extends into the late season, imparting a spicy character to the wines, accompanied by deep fruit flavours and richness.

WINEMAKERS COMMENTS:
The wine exudes an aromatic and vibrant bouquet, showcasing notes of red cherry, pomegranate, and delicate, freshly bloomed florals. Fresh red fruit notes and herbal undertones rest on a foundation of silky tannins, evolving into a refined and enduring finish. Pronounced mineral nuances and acidity harmonize to create an invigorating and confident balance.

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.

Complex, dry, savoury and sophisticated Pinot Noir; consistently one of the best from Central Otago. This wine is an outstanding expression of cool climate Pinot and is 100% certified organic made from two vineyards with approximately 75% of the grapes from Pisa with the balance coming from Muirkirk Vineyard on Felton Road in Bannockburn. A star. Drinks well now and is a keeper for at least four to five years, over which time it will evolve into an even more layered wine. 

This wine has aromas of cassis, ripe dark cherries, toasted spices, and savoury notes. The mid-palate shows fruit sweetness, while generous but fine-grained tannins contribute to a lingering elegant finish.

Vineyard 

Nautilus Clay Hills Vineyard is located on the ridge that divides the Brancott and Omaka Valleys within the Southern Valleys sub-region of Marlborough. The vineyard is divided into 6 discrete blocks with different aspects and slopes and an elevation between 100 and 130 m. Normally picked midway through the Pinot Noir harvest window this vineyard has rapidly become the cornerstone block for Nautilus Pinot Noir where the clay-based soils contribute a silken texture and fine-grained tannins. The vines are trained to a VSP trellis system with a mixture of cane and spur pruning, with a target yield of 1.5 - 2.0 kg per vine.

A very special Pinot Noir with layers of complexity, a silky texture and delicate concentrated red fruit, earth and spice flavours. This lovely wine is made in miniscule quantities from this country's smallest wine region, the Waitaki Valley, where the Clos Caroline Vineyard is situated. This stunning vineyard site is walled with (and full of) limestone; that mercurial rock that makes for extremely healthy Pinot Noir vines. 

This wine is a must try for Pinot Noir devotees. 

From Quartz Reef’s Bendigo Estate vineyard which is BioGro certified organic and Demeter certified biodynamic. Deep ruby-red in colour exhibiting spiced wild berries. Opulent and rich on the palate with notes of dark cherry, blackberry and liquorice. Silky tannins with a muscular structure and impressive length.

Sensational certified organic Marlborough Pinot Noir with dark fruit flavours, elegant structure and a spicy style. All grapes in this wine were hand picked and 20% were whole bunch fermented in large French oak with no crushing. Light extraction is the aim, says winemaker Damien Yvon, who gave the wine less than three weeks of total post ferment maceration time. The finished wine was then aged for 12 months in French oak, 20% of which was new – a relatively modest amount, which allows the fruit to be hero in this wine. It is a beautifully refined, silky and elegant Pinot Noir.

Clos Henri began 22 years ago in Marlborough when the French Bourgeois family expanded their winemaking from the heart of Sancerre in the tiny village of Chavignol to Blenheim, in 2001. Now that their vines are 22 years of age , the family feels that they are only now starting to reflect and express the taste of the land. This family retains their land and winemaking in Chavignol where they have made wine for 11 generations.

Beautiful bright black cherries are captured in a structured full bodied Pinot Noir with delicacy and light notes of earth, spice and summer berries. This is the best Whitehaven Pinot Noir yet, made mostly from grapes grown in Marlborough's Southern Valley sub-region.  A stunner and incredibly good value for money. 

This wine drinks beautifully now (in 2024) and will certainly age well for at least five years. 

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.