An opulent, fullbodied Marlborough PinotNoir, harvested from a low yielding single vineyard. Fragrant red berry aromas and hints of spice extend to an opulent palate of ripe cherry, chocolate and dark plum. Beautifully structured and rich concentration from French Oak maturation.
Produced only in selected vintages.

Established in 1864 by Jean Désiré Féraud, Monte Christo is the birthplace of Central Otago wine. Our wines are made with 100% estate-grown fruit sourced from our vineyards across three distinct sub-regions, the Alexandra Basin, Bannockburn and Pisa. Utilising sustainable farming practices and minimal intervention methods in the winery, the outcome is elegant, refined, and impeccably balanced wines epitomising the terroir of Central Otago.

Tasting note With dark plums and spice, this  Pinot Noir has bright acidity and a soft finish.

VINEYARDS 

Vineyard: Catherine’s (39%) Subregion: Pisa Elevation: 240m Clone(s):  115, 5, Abel Soil: Waenga alluvial sand and silt gravels, loam texture and moderately stoney, derived from schist 

Vineyard: Davishon (31%) Subregion:  Alexandra Basin Elevation: 160m Clone(s):  5, 115 Soil: Blackmans alluvial sand and silt gravels derived from schist and sandstone.

Vineyard: Confluence (21%) Subregion: Bannockburn Elevation: 210m Clone(s): 777, 115 Soil: Manuherikia loess deposited silt material overlaying sand and silt alluvial deposits derived from schist

Vineyard: Paris (9%) Subregion: Bannockburn Elevation: 220m Clone(s): 10/5, 115 Soil: Cromwell loess deposited sands derived from schist

WINEMAKING Brix: 23.3 (avg.) Whole Cluster: 6% Total time on skins: 25 days (avg.), including a five-day cold soak Fermentation: Wild yeasts Aging: 10 months in 33% new French oak

Trail Rider wines are hand made from fruit grown in some of Alexandra's best vineyards, most of which overlook the Central Otago Rail Trail. These are serious wines made with no corners cut, designed to be enjoyed and shared now, although these wines will develop with time.

Tasting
It's gorgeously ripe and perfumed on the nose showing dark cherry, sweet plum, roasted hazelnut, mushroom and rich floral aromas. The wonderfully weighted palate delivers excellent fruit purity together with stylish complexity, finishing wonderfully long and velvety

Winemaking
All the fruit was hand harvested before being 100% destemmed before a long, slow maceration. The fruit was fermented slowly then gently pressed before spending

A lively and generous Pinot from the Moutere Clay soils.  Aromas of bright cherries and spice are complemented with fine tannins, a long finish, and a slight earthy tone. A delicious Nelson Pinot Noir.

Superb savoury Central Otago Pinot Noir with fragrant perfumed flavours of red cherries, cranberries and wild thyme, made from hand picked grapes grown on the Te Kano estate vineyard in Bannockburn, home to the winery's new cellar door and tasting room.

The grapes are fermented in separate vineyard lots then blended together and the finished wine is aged in French oak for 10 months, developing spicy notes which complement the wine's red cherry, red berry and wild thyme flavour notes. 

It's dry and medium bodied with a smooth soft character.

Central Otago at its liveliest and at an affordable price.

Commercial description

Immediately appealing on the nose showing dark cherry, roasted nut, game, warm mushroom and rich floral aromas. The palate delivers terrific weight and richness, splendidly supported by velvety texture and layers of polished tannins. Graceful and harmonious with an impressive long silky finish.

A cheeky 'n cheerful Pinot Noir which over delivers on all counts. Nor Wester Pinot is named after the eponymous dry north west wind that blows through North Canterbury's vineyards, often decimating bunches of grapes and ensuring that those remaining can develop thicker skins than Pinot Noir usually has. This can help to define the earthy flavours and impressive structure of the wines made in this region and, even at this relatively humble price, quality remains surprisingly high. 

Nor' Wester is a blend of grapes from the region, fermented in small batches with daily hand plunging and aged in French oak for 10 months. It's a very similar style to Greystone Pinot Noir, only it's not a 100% estate grown wine.

It offers outstanding value for money with delicious drinking now and potential to hold.

About Greystone

The Greystone wine story began in 2000 when the Thomas Family bought an old sheep farm on the Omihi hills in the Waipara Valley, North Canterbury. The rolling limestone hills lured this family in and their goal was a single minded one: to make great wines from the limestone rich soils here. Fast forward 20 years and Greystone is one of the great (and, some might say, yet to be fully discovered) wineries in this outstanding wine region. Not least due to the work of winemaker Dom Maxwell and general manager Nick Gill, who began working together in 2005 and has grown along with the brand and quality. 

A deliciously fragrant Marlborough pinot ? juicy blackberries, blueberries and the sweet aroma of homemade strawberry jam, intermingled with more savoury suggestions of black olives, cedar and a hint of lavender. Its ethereal but finely structured palate has concentrated varietal character that combines red and black fruit with earthy, smoky nuances.

Crater Rim is a small and high quality winery in the Waipara Valley in the heart of North Canterbury and this is a lovely earthy expression of Pinot Noir from this wine region. 

Savoury layers of smoked mushrooms and bright red cherry flavours combine in this lively red. Drinks well now and can improve for the next two to three years. 

This is one of our best Pinot Noirs under $25 and consistently exceptional drinking at this price, thanks to fruit forward flavours of red cherries which are underpinned by refreshing acidity kept in balance by an under tow of savoury, earthy flavours. 

It's made by Martinborough winemaker John Douglas, who owns a small vineyard on Te Muna Road, 9 kilometres west of Martinborough village. This four hectare plot of organically certified vineyard land is home to the grapes that go into this excellent Pinot Noir, which over delivers on value, flavour and style.

Te Muna Valley has the same stony soils as vineyards the better known  vineyards around Martinborough village. It also has a slightly windier, slightly cooler climate, both factors that combine to make for challenges in the volume of grapes produced but exceptional depth of flavour in the great wines from this valley. 

Rabbit Ranch is one of the best known and highest volume Pinot Noirs produced in the world’s southernmost wine regions, Central Otago. It is made from grapes grown around the wider Central Otago region, pushing softness and approachability in a light to medium bodied, fruit forward style each year. It drinks well as a youthful wine and is not intended to be cellared for the long term.

Good-value Pinot Noir from Central Otago where Pinot rules over 80 per cent of the vineyard area and makes gorgeous fruit driven reds with medium body and fresh, cool climate notes of bright acidity and earthy tones. Lovely new addition to our shelves.
The wine brand is owned by two families who grow the grapes and employ experienced winemakers in the region to produce their wines. The philosophy of the owners is to produce high quality wines made from hand picked grapes from vineyard sites with low yields, using wild yeast fermentations, minimal sulphur additions and using sustainable practices as much as possible. This is their quest and the wines are elegant renditions of Otago's edgy climate with its hot summer days and cool seasons on both sides of ripening.