Hot on the heals of the previous (slightly disappointing, from a New Zealand perspective) tasting comes another New Zealand Pinot Noir tasting, where some wines blew me away.
The star of the show, named after the winemaker and its inaugural release, was the 2020 Ata Rangi Masters Pinot Noir. It comes from a cool site 4km away from the home block. This is a very Burgundian wine with strawberry, pomegranate, and red cherry flavours. Earthy notes add to the complexity. The tannins are peppery and silky. This wine is superbly elegant with the seldom experienced expanding peacock fan on the finish. This wine will gain from some cellaring. It would give many grand cru a run for their (much more expensive) money (97/+++ points).
Another very impressive wine was the 2019 Burn Cottage 'Burn Cottage Vineyard' Pinot Noir from Central Otago. It delivers beautiful focused red and black cherry flavours, which seem to dance on the tongue. This is a smooth and elegant wine with a soft, perfumed, and slightly spicy finish (95/+++ points).
I also enjoyed a wine from 2015, of which I do not know anything. This was the 2015 Te Whare Ra SV5182 Pinot Noir from Marlborough. This red cherry flavoured wine is still fresh. It is an elegant wine of medium concentration (94/++ points).
A more intense wine with a big mouthfeel is the 2017 Prophet's Rock Cuvée aux Antipodes Pinot Noir. This is a complex wine with dark cherry and mocca flavours. While impressive, it felt a little overworked and slightly out of balance. And twice the price of the Ata Rangi? I don't think so (93/++ points).
On 92 points were the final three wines: the 2013 Pegasus Bay Prima Donna Pinot Noir (a bit fruity, but sophisticated elegance); the 2020 Pyramid Valley Korimako Pinot Noir (very aromatic, quite light, mouthfeel a bit too round); 2021 Craggy Range Aroha Pinot Noir (quite fruity, elegant, but mouthfeel a bit flat).
These wines showed the complexity and elegance I was missing from the New Zealand wines in the last tasting. Having said this, there is no change from a $100 note for these wines. In some cases quite a bit more.
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