Devotus Pinot Noir

 Martinborough is a small and very special place for making Pinot Noir. This is where Ata Rangi is located, as well as Dry River, Kusuda, and a few others. For me, the silky tannins and ethereal character of the wines are the hallmark of this region. Now, a new specialist has emerged, Devotus. The 2.5 ha site is only planted to Pinot Noir. The winemaker, ex Dr River I believe, is devoted to Pinot Noir. This is obviously very small production. I was given a bottle of this special wine.

The 2021 Devotus Pinot Noir is quite concentrated. The purity of fruit, an indication of the meticulous work in the vineyard as well as the winery, is impressive. Black cherry flavours dominate. This is nothing like the much more savoury expression of Dry River. This is quite a big wine, still smooth and elegant on the palate. The tannins are quite soft. Overall, the wine is perhaps a little bit too focussed on fruit, but this is a very promising start. A winery to watch.

Score: 94/++ 

 

Bindi Darshan Pinoit Noir

 I have never done this before, that is to start with a description from the winery website, but it works in this case. The wine is new and relatively unknown, and the description quite simple and forward.

 Darshan vineyard is a tribute to Bindi founder Bill Darshan Singh Dhillon, who passed in early 2013. The vineyard preparations began a few months afterwards with planting taking place in 2014. Darshan faces west on quartz riddled soils similar to the Original Vineyard and is planted at 11,300 vines per hectare with 20% of the vines being a Crazy section at 22,600 vines per hectare featuring four clones. Over the first seven vintages, to 2023, we have seen this site produce ethereal wine showing exquisite perfume and spice with a lacey, sinewy, flowing long palate. Darshan , like Original Vineyard, is about perfume and finesse whereas Block 8 and Block 5 share fruit depth and structure in common.

Michael Dhillon, the current winemaker, has a strong sense of family tradition and history. Hence this naming. I drank the 2017 Bindi Darshan Pinot Noir. So, the vines are three (!) years old, but what unfolds in the mouth is astonishing. The wine is not too concentrated, but the strawberry flavours and silky tannins deliver a superbly elegant and ethereal mouthfeel. It is just so beautiful. Heaven in the mouth! I can't wait for this vineyard to mature.

Score: 96/+++

Pooley Pinot Noir

 Sorry for the long break, but there is not much wine to report from Muslim Indonesia. Now back in Australia, we are faced with what to drink during warm summer nights. I still have a preference for red wine in the evening. And I want it to be more than a quaffer, but not too heavy obviously, and not too complicated. Enters the 2021 Pooley Pinot Noir.

I have been critical about the single vineyard Pinot, and to some extent, the story is repeated here. This is a fruit dominated wine, red and black fruit, quite big in the mouth. The fruit weight does not allow much complexity. There is an underlying structure to the wine, but the lack of drive makes this wine a bit of a fruit bomb, not dissimilar to some Central Otago wines.

Score: 88/0

TOP NSW Wines

 Wines from New South Wales do not have a great reputation. I do not know if it is the arrogance of Sydneysiders, or what is causing it, but a recent tasting of premium NSW wines demonstrated they can mix it with the best. I will comment briefly on five wines in this tasting.

The first two wines are from Orange, a cool climate region, which produces increasingly exciting wines. The 2022 Canobolas Chardonnay is citrus and floral flavoured. It is a very elegant wine. It does not undergo malolactic fermentation, and is matured in oak. The vineyard slopes down the mountain of Mt. Canobolas, and this translates into an energetic wine with a mineral finish. This wine is absolutely first class (94 points).

The 2023 ChaLou 'Quixotic' Reserve Pinot Noir is equally impressive. This is the first Reserve Pinot Noir from this producer. The wine is obviously very young at this point and quite restraint. The grapes are grown on volcanic soil. They deliver an appealing blend of black cherry and mulberry fruit and some savoury characteristics. The finish is caressing and long (94 points).

Then came the known big guns. The 2019 Tyrrells Old Patch Shiraz was most impressive. It comes from the oldest vineyard in NSW, planted in 1867. This is a medium bodied wine with great purity of  red fruits. The wine has a velvety texture and a piercing drive. The wine is elegant and powerful at the same time. The excellent balance between fruit, acidity, and tannins points to a long future (97 points).

Tasting the 2009 Clonakilla Shiraz/Viognier straight after, was a tough assignment. This is quite a different wine - softer and fruitier, with a bigger mouthfeel, and some five spice. It was quite harmonious at 15 years of age (95 points).

The 2000 Lake's Folly Cabernet Blend from Magnum was equally fresh, after 24 years. What an achievement! The vineyard is on a unique plot in the Hunter Valley, red clay over limestone. The wine is red fruited with a characteristic earthy flavour. The beautifully structured palate delivers great concentration of fruit and a long finish (97 points).     

 

Peay Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

 Buying American wine in Australia, or anywhere else for that matter, is always a difficult value for money equation. Peay Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is somewhat of an exception. The wine is priced like a blended wine from purchased fruit, but in this case, it is all Estate fruit at relatively low yields. The vineyards are only 4km from the coast. The grapes benefit from frequent fog and overnight cooler temperatures, and avoid the heat spikes further inland.

A couple of nights ago, I poured the 2019 Peay Sonoma Cost Pinot Noir. The wine has an appealing aromatic nose of rose petals and hibiscus. Red and black cherry fruit is blended on the palate with mild savoury notes of forest floor. This delivers an appealing, slightly soft mouthfeel. The wine is framed by solid acidity and dry tannins.

This wine has all the ingredients of a great wine, but it ultimately lacks some depth and drive for it to be outstanding.

Score: 94/++

  

Giant Steps Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs

 Giant Steps received great accolades for its 2023 Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs. To see how they develop, I opened a couple of these wines from 2021.

The 2021 Giant Steps Wombat Creek Pinot Noir comes from perhaps the most challenging vineyard in the Yarra Valley. It is the most elevated at over 400m. Giant Steps does not make wine from it every year. It did not, as far as I know, in 2023, a very cool year.

But lets look at 2021. The colour is very bright pink, translating into vibrant red cherry flavours. The wine is really intense in its fruit flavours, almost jumps out of the glass. It is backed by savoury notes and firm tannins before a medium plus finish. The wine is not too complex in its flavour profile, but it is very well made and has a great structure. I found it quite exciting.

Score: 95/+++

The 2021 Giant Steps Primavera Vineyard Pinot Noir is also from a higher altitude vineyard at 240m.  It shows a more complex fruit profile, with red and black cherry flavours dominant, and a fragrant mouthfeel. This wine is quite soft in the mouth. Again, there are savoury or mushroom flavours. The tannins are soft.

In terms of quality, it is high in both wines, but the focus is quite different. The Wombat Creek wine is about structure, whereas Primavera is about flavour complexity.

Score: 95/+++

Both wines indicate excellent and site specific winemaking. They hint at great things to come from this winery.

Langton's Classification Tasting, Part 1

 This tasting of the best Australian wines according to Langton's 'empirical' data only happens once every five years or so. It is a big affair, as 100 wines are available for tasting. I attended it yesterday in Sydney.

The event was well organized, but still, one had to navigate quite a big crowd. There was not enough time to take detailed notes, as I tasted 30+ wines. It became obvious that there were hardly any bad wines; so it came down to personal preferences. In this post I will comment on the Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs I tasted. The next post will cover Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon and blends.

I did not taste all wines in these categories, because I either knew them quite well or was not interested, So for example in Chardonnay, I did not taste Penfolds Yattarna and Giaconda Chardonnay.

Of the Chardonnays I tasted, the perhaps surprising, but not altogether surprising favorite was the 2018 Penfolds Reserve Bin A Chardonnay. This wine seems to be a bit less restricted by the house style. It is a bit funkier, still very fresh, with concentrated citrus and grapefruit flavours, and a creamy texture and great line. World-class! 

Not far behind was the 2021 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay. A bit understated, yet powerful, with beautiful lime and white peach fruit and great drive.

The 864 Oakridge Chardonnay was very clean, but a bit oaky (pardon the pun). And the Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay came last, showing less freshness and vibrancy (still a good wine).

On the Pinot Noir front, it was essentially a battle between Bass Phillip and Bindi. Both wineries had two wines in the line-up. The very rare 2018 Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir was exquisite - a wine of elegance and poise, silky tannins and a long finish.

The Bindi wines showed a clear winery style of delicacy and finesse. The 2021 Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir impressed with lifted aromas and a very smooth palate. The Bindi Original Vineyard Pinot Noir was also very balanced and smooth - not much between these two.

The 2022 Bass Phillip Premium Pinot Noir was quite different - a result of the new ownership? This was a very savoury and peppery style; quite unusual for an Australian Pinot Noir, and not as poised as the previous three wines. Finally, the 2022 Main Ridge Half Acre could not outperform its tough competition. The owner described the vintage as tough, and the wine, while quite aromatic, fell a bit short on the finish.

While this went close to expectations, part 2 will show some real surprises.   

Pooley Cooinda Vineyard Pinot Noir

 Time for a potentially controversial post. Pooley is a Tasmanian winery which has greatly expanded its range and tiered its offerings, including single vineyard wines. So far, so good. 

It is located in the Coal River Valley, an area in Tasmania which gets a lot of sunshine and little rain. It is therefore attractive to many producers, because the disease risk is lower than in other parts. However, a leading expert on Pinot Noir (who will remain nameless) is critical of this location. In his view, Pinot Noir needs rain and needs to struggle. I just tasted the 2021 Pooley Cooinda Vineyard Pinot Noir and am interested to find out if this thesis shows in this wine. 

The Cooinda Vale vineyard is now almost 40 years old, so the vines are quite mature. On the palate, the wine is fruit focused. Red and black cherry flavours open up immediately. There is some elegance and finesse in this medium intensity wine, but the mouthfeel is a bit shallow. The tannins are soft, and  structure is lacking. This is a pretty and quaffable wine, which to me does not hold much interest.

Maybe there is some truth in the Coal River hypothesis mentioned above.

Score: 89/0  

Delamere Pinot Noir

 As I mentioned in previous posts, Tasmanian Pinot Noir is difficult to get a grip on. There are a number of sub-regions with quite different terroir, and, being a marginal wine growing region, depending on the vintage, in one year one sub-region works out well, and in another year another. For the 2021 vintage, Delamere from the Pipers Brook region in the north-east was written up well. This is my first taste of the 2021 Delamere Pinot Noir.

The wine shows a ruby colour, bright and intense. On the palate, black cherry and licorice dominate. This Pinot Noir is very deep and concentrated, surprising for Tasmania, perhaps (although there are other examples). There is fresh acidity and firm tannins, but the fruit flavours outweigh the structure elements. As a result, the strength of the wine is on the front and mid palate. Still, this is a satisfying wine, which drinks well right now. 

The wine clearly benefits from 40 year old vines and the winemaking skills of the Bay of Fires team.

Score: 95/++

A Winning Strategy?

 We all like to acquire an excellent wine at a low price. Is there a systematic way of doing this? One approach is to buy a second or third level wine from a leading winemaking team. Well, this can work to some extent, but there is a reason why these wines are second or third tier. I have now come across another approach. It is terroir related. The first wine is from Lusatia Park, Yarra Valley. This vineyard has delivered fruit to Giant Steps, Oakridge, Phi and others. Since 2015, the site is owned by De Bortoli. Interestingly, this name is not found on the label of their 2022 Riorret Lusatia Park Pinot Noir.

The wine comes across as quite fruity, in a typical strawberry, red cherry blend. It is a lively wine, and some savoury backbone starts to develop on the mid-palate. The wine is medium weight, with a balanced mouthfeel. The tannins are mild and the finish medium. This is a good quality all-rounder, but it lacks the sophistication of a top Yarra Pinot Noir.

Score: 93/++

So, has this approach been successful? I guess to a degree, but not completely.

The second wine is the 2022 Terra Sancta Mysterious Diggings Pinot Noir.

This wine is from Central Otago. In fact, the vineyard is right next to the original Felton Road vineyard. It sits at 300m altitude and consists of sandy soils.

This is a more intense wine than the first wine, with red and black cherry fruit, raspberry, black truffle, and forest floor. There is good complexity in this energetic wine. It is also fruit dominant and delivers a silky mouthfeel. Other elements fall in the mid range: body weight, tannins, and finish.

Again, the wine is good quality, a bit darker and bigger than the first wine.

Score: 93/++

So, is this strategy working? The wines did not disappoint, and they deliver very good value for money, in particular the Mysterious Diggings. But is it a major revelation or an absolute steal? Probably not. The wine market is quite efficient. 

Epis Pinot Noir

 Domaine Epis is a bit of a legendary winery. It was one of the first in the Macedon Ranges, and it made Pinot Noir in a Burgundian style, more savoury, while 20+ years ago many Australian Pinot Noirs were very fruit forward. It's volume was also very small. So you had the making of a cult winery. Forward 20 years, and the Pinot Noir landscape has changed a lot and the quality is much improved across the board. I have not had Epis wines for a long time, but I picked up a 2021 Epis Pinot Noir the other day.

The first impression: this is not so different and unusual any more. Black raspberry and forest floor flavours deliver a largely savoury impression in the mouth. There is also a slightly metallic touch. This is a medium-bodied wine with a somewhat linear, austere mouthfeel. The tannins are mild, and the finish medium plus. The wine opened up a bit in the glass, and will be better in a few years.

What is happening here is, many other wineries have caught up and gone ahead, whereas Epis has stood still (remember Virgin Hills?). The owner is now a remarkable 86 years old. He is getting some help from Michael Dhillon (Bindi) and others, but a more permanent solution will be required.

Score: 92/+

By Farr New Releases

 The whites of the new releases are from 2023, the reds from the 2022 vintage. Both vintages were cool in Geelong, in particular 2023.

I start with the 2023 By Farr Viognier. Viognier can be difficult, often a bit flabby, and tasting of fruit salad. This wine avoids it, helped by the cool vintage. It is quite tight, tasting of citrus, ginger, and apricot. So there is good complexity, and firms acidity brings it home in style (94 points).

The 2023 By Farr Chardonnay is interesting. It is certainly different from most in this country. While it is a young wine, it features ripe stone fruits, even some honey, and an overall savoury mouthfeel. It is quite a rich wine. I recommend to drink it young (93 points).

The most highly regarded By Farr wines are certainly the Pinot Noirs. The 2022 By Farr ‘Farrside’ Pinot Noir shows very lifted and pretty aromas. On the palate, strawberry, mushroom, and earthy flavours dominate. This is a very light wine, due to the vintage. The 60% whole bunch brings some body. The wine is smooth with a soft finish. It is quite different from the typical powerhouse performance of this wine (92 points).

The 2022 By Farr 'Sangreal' Pinot Noir is always the more savoury wine. Vines are grown on volcanic soil. In this year, it is quite fruity. There is the expected savoury undergrowth, but it is nowhere near as powerful as in most years. The firmer tannins and resulting structure gives it the lead over the 'Farrside' (93 points).

The real surprise is the 2022 By Farr Shiraz. This wine has never been on my radar. But in this year, where the Pinots do not hit their usual heights, the Shiraz shines. The wine is quite light, but in beautiful balance. Red berry fruit, a bit of spice, and some creaminess deliver a beautiful tender mouthfeel. This is cool climate Victorian Shiraz, but without the strong spice component of the typical Victorian profile. Soft tannins finish this graceful wine (94 points).

Overall, an unexpected experience. The Pinots were outshone by the bookends, the Viognier and the Shiraz. This is what vintage variation can do.

Pinot Noir And Other Highlights

 At a recent tasting, I tasted predominantly Pinot Noir, but also some other interesting wines.

Rippon just found out that its Gamay labelled wine is in fact Pinot Noir; a bit embarassing. And do not be afraid if you cannot tell, the winemakers apparently can't either. I tasted the three key Pinot Noirs. The 2020 'Rippon' Estate wine is very perfumed and quite light. It is an easy drink, quite elegant, with strawberry and red cherry flavours (91 points) . 'Emma's Block' sits at the bottom of the vineyard, just above the lake, facing east. This wine has a similar profile, but a bit more intensity (93 points). 'Tinker's Field' sits right next to it, with the oldest vines from 1986, and north facing. This wine is a bit darker, with a piercing drive and a long finish. Elegance is the key here as well (94 points). The Rippon wines are expensive, and while they are well made, they lack power (for me). I would look elsewhere.

From Tasmania I tasted the 2023 Dr Edge Tasmania Pinot Noir. This is a bright and fruity wine with red cherry and some undergrowth flavours. It fills the mouth nicely, but is a bit forward (92 points).  The 2018 Moorilla 'Muse' is a different proposition. This is a much more complex wine, dominated by red cherry fruit and vanilla from the oak. This is an elegant wine with good length, but too much oak, which is a concern after six years (92 points). Ossa made quite a splash with its new Pinot Noirs from fairly young vines. The 2022 Pinot Noir has red and black cherry flavours, intense on the front palate. The wine is quite fruity, but is helped with elegant tannins and a minor oak influence (93 points).

The wine of the tasting, however, was the 2022 Bondar Clarendon Shiraz. The wine comes from one of Australia's best Shiraz vineyards, the Hickinbotham vineyard in Clarendon, McLaren Vale. The wine is surprisingly blue fruited, fresh, but with good intensity, silky tannins, and a long, satisfying finish (95 points). 

The real surprise (as I expected) were the Dão wines from António Madeira. These wines taste like nothing we have in Australia, and they have personality. The 2020 DãoVinhas Velhas Branco is an interesting white wine, quite full-flavoured (there is some skin contact), tasting of tropical fruit and kumquat (I have never seen this as a descriptor; it is meant to describe complex citrus). The light touch oak is well integrated, and the finish is firm (92 points). The 2019 Dão Vinhas Velhas Tinto is quite a light red, tasting of raspberry and pomegranate; some dark fruits as well. It also has pleasant earthy flavour, spice, and a soft mouthfeel (92 points). The 2019 Dão Vinha da Serra is a step up. It is António Madeira's top vineyard at 600m of altitude based on granite. The raspberry and cranberry flavours are delicate, fresh and elegant, yet quite intense and powerful. Dry tannins lead to a long finish (95 points).

 

Domaine Castagnier Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru

 There are essentially two strategies for the wine enthusiast wanting to experience good, but not exorbitantly expensive Burgundy. 1) To buy a village wine from a good producer or subregion;                2) To buy a Grand Cru from a lesser vineyard and/or producer. Both strategies have obvious limitations, but then the market and pricing basically works, although not perfectly.

The wine I reviewed last followed the first strategy. Today we look at a wine from the second strategy. It is the 2018 Domaine Castagnier Saint Denis Grand Cru.

Morey-Saint-Denis is perhaps one of the lesser appellations of the Cote de Nuits, the Clos Saint Denis a lesser grand cru there, and Domaine Castagnier is certainly not one of the top Burgundy names. However, the plot is in the historical and original part of Clos Saint Denis, and the winery has made great progress according to Jasper Morris.

Let's look at the wine. The colour is a darker purple, and the aromas on the nose are fruity, rich, and ripe.

On the palate, this is a more concentrated wine than the one reviewed in my last post. Ripe raspberry and dark cherry flavours deliver a pleasant and energetic mouthfeel, which is not too demanding or complex. The silky tannins lead to a medium finish with firm blackberry flavours. For the right price, this is an attractive wine.

Score: 94/++ 

 

 

Domaine Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanée Burgundy

 The 2016 Domaine Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanée shows a pretty purple colour. The wine is perfumed and fruity on the nose.

On the palate, generous black cherry and plum flavours are very clean. This is an almost voluptuous wine, but the mouthfeel is a little simple. There is a great entry, but then the wine falls off a bit. A show pony? But then, on the finish, tannins are persistent and lengthen the finish.

Overall, this is a good village wine, with a typical Vosne-Romanée profile of fleshy fruit.

Score: 92/++

Joshua Cooper Doug's Vineyard Pinot Noir

 Doug's vineyard is at the outskirts of the little town Ramsey, in Macedon. I previously reviewed Cooper's other Macedon Pinot Noir from the Ray-Monde vineyard, and waxed lyrically about it. I will not do it quite so much about this wine, the 2019 Joshua Cooper Doug's Vineyard Pinot Noir. The wine spent one year in oak, before transferred to stainless steel for four months, still on lees. No fining nor filtration, and low alcohol at 12%, similar to its brother. 

Red and black cherry fruit with good intensity feature on the palate. Savoury and herbal notes are there as well and deliver a pleasant and elegant mouthfeel. This wine is quite soft and lacks some bite. I found it a little plump against the backdrop of light tannins. The medium finish does not reveal anything new. 

This style might suit some, but the wine could have been more.

Score: 91/+ 

Bass Phillip Bin 17k Pinot Noir

 It is interesting that leading wineries find it difficult to replicate the quality of their icon wines in newer brands. Henschke is a prime example. The quality of Hill of Grace, Cyril Henschke, and Mt. Edelstone has never been reached by any of its proliferation of newer wines. Bass Phillip is another example. There have been some attempts to replicate the success of the Estate Vineyard in other Gippsland vineyards near by. One such example is the Bin 17k from a vineyard only 350 meters away from the home vineyard.

Phillip Jones has always been clear he wanted to make Burgundy wines and the wines from the Estate Vineyard could be regarded as such. Very low yields and high rainfall, in Phillip Jones' view, are key. He then developed a vineyard with extreme dense planting, 17000 vines per ha (8 to 10k per ha is regarded as dense planting) - hence the name of the Bin 17k.

The 2019 Bass Phillip Bin 17k Pinot Noir comes from a warm vintage. Strawberry and red cherry flavours deliver a pleasant mouthfeel, quite straight forward. Acidity enlivens this medium intensity wine. The finish is medium as well, without the interest the Estate wines normally deliver. This is a wine of balanced fruit weight reflecting the warmer vintage, but nothing special overall.

Score: 91/+

Cooler vintages in later years meant the vines had to struggle too much. The dense planting was simply too demanding for this Gippsland vineyard. The experiment, and therefore this wine, was discontinued.

    

Chatto Isle Pinot Noir

 Chatto's Huon Valley vineyard, a warm site facing north in a cool region, was first planted in 2007. A small part of the vineyard was first bottled separately in 2014 as the Isle Pinot Noir. While the whole vineyard is planted with nine Pinot Noir clones, only three go into the Isle Pinot Noir, with clone 777 dominant. Limestone, calcareous mudstone and a lot of fossils form the soil. The wine is made with a significant proportion of whole bunches.

Vintages vary a lot in Tasmania's marginal climate leading to great variability in wine quality. It is clear that the 2018 Chatto Isle Pinot Noir is very special. 

The wine is complex and layered with dark cherry, cranberry and soft spices on the palate. Earthy and underbrush flavours add to the intense mouthfeel. Fine tannins drive these flavours across the palate to a harmonious finish. This is how Australian Pinot Noir should taste.

The volumes of the Isle Pinot Noir are small. I came across this wine for the first time now. I encourage you to seek it out.

Score: 96/+++ 

Joshua Cooper Ray-Monde Vineyard Pinot Noir

 I am not a big fan of new wineries putting out wines at big prices without a history of success. However, at this winery, success is coming quickly. Just recently, Joshua Cooper has been named best new winery in the Halliday guide for 2024. But it is not exactly without history. Joshua Cooper is the son of Alan Cooper of Cobaw Ridge, the established winery in the Macedon Ranges. It has to be said, though, that while Joshua gained experience in this region, father and son do not necessarily see eye to eye, when it comes to winemaking. Anyway, today I am tasting the 2019 Joshua Cooper Ray-Monde Vineyard Pinot Noir.

Ray-Monde is a grower vineyard at 400m elevation between Sunbury and Macedon. The soil is poor, with bluestone rock prominent. Gravelly ironstone and basaltic clay form the soil.

The wine is very fragrant on the nose. Black cherry, kirsch, licorice, and earthy flavours combine in an ethereal texture. The wine is more linear than voluptuous, with excellent drive and energy. Fine tannins round out the sophisticated composition of this medium-bodied wine (12.5% alcohol) before it finishes medium plus. Macedon has delivered again.

Score: 95/+++

 

Ultra Premium New Zealand Pinot Noir Tasting

 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.