Akitu A2 Pinot Noir is an approachable and complex Pinot Noir made from three different Pinot clones which receive 35% whole bunch fermentation and a modest 7% new French oak in the maturation process. This makes for a smooth but subtle softness in a lush Pinot, which Akitu owner Andrew Donaldson suggests matching with Peking duck pancakes. Hear hear. Any duck would flatter this wine’s lush flavours, for that matter. Volumes: 1096 cases were produced and the wine was bottled on 19 March 2020.

The home of Akitu 

Andrew Donaldson planted his vineyard with 100% Pinot Noir in 2002 and has since developed three distinctive styles of wine from this great red grape variety. Two reds (Akitu A 1 and Akitu A2) lead the production while a Pinot Blanc is now part of the high quality stable of wines from this producer. 

Donaldson employs winemaker P J Charteris to make the wines. 

At Mt Barker, in New Zealand's South Island, in a high glacial valley of sunshine and rain shadow on the edge of the earth, each season leave its own vivid imprint on our vintage.  Extreme temperature variations, alpine air, altitude, adversity... all the wild elements of this exhilarating land combine in a Pinot Noir of great quality from the world's southernmost wine region.

Beautiful soft red fruited Pinot Noir from the original Lowburn Ferry Vineyard in Central Otago. This is a great wine with stature and power. 

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. 

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. 

Sarah-Kate and Dan Dineen are partners in wine and in life and dab hands at producing powerful Pinot Noirs in Central Otago. This one comes from grapes grown on two of Maude's vineyards, Sitting Bull and Queensberry. It's a medium bodied Pinot Noir, dry, earthy and with refreshing red fruit forward flavours.

It drinks beautifully now and can age for a further six to seven years. One of our favourites.

A steep vineyard in Omihi that was established in 1999 has now been renamed as Damsteep (aptly enough) and is home to the grapes that find their way into this pretty aromatic Pinot Noir with its smooth and savoury flavours of fruity red berries, wrapped in firmly structured earthy notes and a lingering, silky finish. This is a great drink now from a very good vintage for quality and it will age well for up to five years, possibly longer. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulphur.

You could say this is the ultimate insider's wine. It's a new brand made by highly experienced Marlborough winemaker William Hoare, who was the original winemaker and then GM at Fromm. Novum is his new brand. It is named after the Roman word 'novum', meaning new. The grapes are from Dog Point's Settlement Vineyard, which is certified organic. It's tight, youthful, medium bodied, silky in texture and will age superbly.

Te Muna is the majestic valley situated 9 kilometres east of Martinborough village and it's home to a growing number of high quality, super tasty wines, such as this one from the new Butterworth estate, formerly known as Julicher.

This Pinot Noir is made from three clones of Pinot; clones 5, Abel, 666 and 667, which each contributes different interesting elements of complexity to this wine, which is made entirely from grapes grown on the Ranger Block. This is the new name for the home block at the Julicher Vineyard site. Winemaker Martin Bell matured this Pinot Noir for 11 months in French oak, 25% new. It has great fruit weight and concentration, which Bell says comes from both the clones and because it?s a barrel selection of his best Pinot Noirs, so a combination of winemaking methods finds its way into this lovely Pinot Noir. 

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.

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. 

‘Luta’, is a wine producer based in Nelson and the name is derived from Lutum, which is Latin for clay and pays reference to the Moutere clays of which the grapes are grown.

Bright, fresh aromatics of tamarillo, strawberry, cherry, violet and a hint of old wood. This wine is plump and fleshy with bright red fruits dominating the palate. Tamarillo, blueberry and vanilla pod linger on the palate while being rounded out with soft plush tannin.

All clones were destemmed and fermented together in a stainless steel tank for 6 days then pressed and left to finish fermentation in tank before being transferred to a mixture of old French barrique, puncheon (70%) and stainless steel (30%), for maturation.

This wine was aged on fine lees for 10 months before being racked and blended in stainless steel and aged for a further 6 months and bottled in October 2022.

Commercial description.

In exceptional years our winemakers carefully select the four best barrels of our finest Pinot Noir. Every bottle is one of fewer than 1200 bottles in existence.

Four Barrels Pinot Noir displays generous plum, cherry and ripe berry fruit aromas with a hint of soft spice. The palate is rich and showing layers of silky-smooth dark berry flavours underpinned by subtle notes of dry ‘Provencal’ herbs. A beautifully balanced elegant, lush wine with a lingering finish.

This regional blend of Burgundian Pinot Noir is new in store and impressive with its clean, fresh, savoury flavours, which underpin its lively red fruit and juicy acidity. This is beautiful drinking right now with firm tannins and adding depth to the mid palate and length of flavour to the finish. 

Good drinking now or in the next two to three years.

This fleshy, savoury, super silky and earthy Pinot Noir is made from grapes grown on a small .8 of a hectare situated on the road to Castlepoint in the northern Wairarapa. The first vintage was 2016 and the wine is a  collaboration between winemakers Karl Johner and Raphael Burki. All grapes in this smooth Pinot were hand harvested with 20% whole bunch to provide floral and fruit aroma lift and silkiness. The wine was aged for 12 months in French oak, 20% new, and bottled without filtering or fining. It is vegan friendly.Lime Hill Pinot Noir is made from a small vineyard of .8 of a hectare situated on the road to Castlepoint in the northern Wairarapa. The first vintage was in 2016 and the brand is a  collaboration between winemakers Karl Johner (of Johner Wines at Gladstone) and Raphael Burki, who have been making wine together since 2009. 

This wine is bottled without any filtering or fining. It is vegan friendly.

One of the best South Island Pinot Noir with its gentle spicy aromas, deep earthy flavours and beautiful structural style, supported by lifted red berry and cherry aromas. This is a stunning wine. 

Greystone is a North Canterbury's winery situated in the Waipara Valley where its vines are planted on the limestone rich hillsides with north facing aspects and producing 100% estate grown, 100% certified organic wines. This wine consistently over delivers with savoury flavours, a silky character and the ability to age extremely well, thanks to Dom Maxwell's winemaking and great viticulture from the Greystone team in the Waipara Valley, North Canterbury.

It's one of our favourites here at Regional because it consistently over delivers with savoury flavours reminding many of us of the great mushrooms of the world and the complex taste of outstanding Pinot Noirs. This wine has elegance, a silky character and the ability to age extremely well, thanks to Dom Maxwell's winemaking and great viticulture from the Greystone team in the Waipara Valley, North Canterbury. 

Certified organic with BioGro NZ.

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.