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Gary wrote this up in 2006 so I thought it time for another look. Very bright shade of red in the glass. The nose leaps out with cherry and that edgy character that is like raspberry but with a bit of dried herb, maybe even tomato leaf but that’s a bit harsh really. It was quite alive. The palate was fresh, crisp, clean and the integration between oak and fruit still needing more time. Great length, a fine example of Central Otago.

Other vintages : 2005

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I believe that there is no place called Gibbston Valley but there is a place called Gibbston! But this is a real Pinot Noir of quality. The colour is moderate to dark red on the David Pinot scale of colour. The nose has the ripe red and dark cherry aspect with a hint of dried herb. The palate is very long and quite moreish as Oliver would say. The flavours show superb integration of fruit and oak, almost seamless in fact. The fruit begins with the red cherry and moves along through dark cherry and finishes with a hint of blueberry and cinnamon. Long and lovely. The wine is still available at cellar door at the price listed below.

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The 2007 season in Central Otago was essentially excellent. Some producers reported a bit of shrivel but generally intense flavours and a lot of mid palate richness will be the go. Felton Road are great believers in biodynamic principles especially those of Steiner and feel that this vintage demonstrates its worth. I gather the wine was only bottled three or four weeks ago and for this reason I suggest waiting a little while at which stage I feel a better picture will emerge. The nose has loads of ripe red cherry and char with a hint of sour Morello style cherry. The palate shows sweet fruit that is very big across the mid palate, cherry flavours, a bit of dried herbs and a lovely silky texture. The mid palate grunt doesn’t translate through to the end at this stage and hopefully will fill out over the next few months. The oak is more subtle on the palate than indicated by the nose.

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A curiously cork sealed Central Otago pinot from the Bendigo and Pisa sub-regions. Very good though and perhaps a bit more refined than you would expect of a Central Otago.

Lots going on here with black cherry, plum, sarsaparilla, pepper, spice, smoke, flowers and pencilly oak all making their contributions to this aromatically action packed wine. It’s medium bodied with bright fresh acidity, smooth lightly chalky tannins and excellent flow through the mouth. Not heavy or sweet with flavours of black cherry, graphite, liquorice, spice, a little cocoa and a long clean spicy finish. It’s a very impressive wine.

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I have tried several vintages of this wine now and see a high level of continuity despite quite different vintage conditions. Central Otago has several subregions that produce different styles and the site of this vineyard appears to produce generous fruit flavours and good palate length. This wine opened with nice aromas of red fruits and a hint of cola. The palate showed cherry and some plum with oak flavours that have a bit of cola. The palate seems to last quite some time and the acid keeps everything together without leaving me wondering if its too much. Yes, the word balance comes to mind as does pinosity. Lovely wine and good value.

Other vintages: 2004, 2003

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Cornish Point is a 25 acre vineyard site in Central Otago. It has been divided into 25 blocks, each sized to supply one 3 tonne fermenting tank. There are 24 blocks of Pinot Noir and 1 block of Chardonnay. The vines are close spaced: 1.1m plant spacing on 2.2m row widths, on VSP trellis system. The clones are Clone 5 (UCD5) Clone 6, AM10/5, 114, 115, 667, 777 and DRC Abel. Rootstocks are 3309, 101.14, and RPG. The wines are made by Blair Walter at Cornish Point’s sister vineyard, Felton Road. I know all this because it’s on their website.

A pleasant nose: red cherries, wood spice, herbs, with a touch of earth and smoke. Palate follows true to the nose: red fruits and spice, dark cherries, a certain finesse, sweet fruit but not cloying, firm oak but not overly so, with excellent length. There is also a spine of acid that I hadn’t noticed previously which detracted just a touch. Even so, a wine to swirl and sniff, and contemplate, with silky mouthfeel that makes it slide down very easily, but not quite as good as the one I had last year.

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I wasn’t sure where this was so I opened Google earth and typed Old Weka Pass road Waipara NZ, and I reckon I saw the vineyard and its wind break! This is a production of 3300 bottles produced ie about 12 barrels of the one wine. The website implies this is from fruit that they have bought in rather than the Dijon clones grown at Bell Hill. The aromas are of a bit of spice, a nice dose of cherry, a little plum and a hint of dried herbs and maybe some mint.
The palate has nice balance. A strange way to start but I believe that balance is very important. The cherry is stronger on the palate. There is still a slightly herbal edge but it is more like Burgundian terroir set of herbs than something offensive. I like the overall feel of this wine. My only reservation is that at the $81 I paid it seems rather expensive, especially if it is from purchased fruit.

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In a bracket of fine wines served blind this looked very good. It was bright with a very nice shade of red/ruby. The nose was pure red cherry with a nice dose of pencil shaving oak. The palate was lovely in terms of the fruits and length, full of cherry with a bit of plum and a bit of blackberry with a tart finish. It was strange in terms of its structure because it seemed a little like a Rousseau (oak treatment), maybe a little Central Otago (tart), yet the plummy richness of Marlborough. It was highly regarded by those around me and it turned out we preferred it ahead of a 2000 DRC, Bass Phillip Premium 02 amongst others. The front label suggests it is Cental Otago but careful reading of the back label reveals it also contains material from Marlborough. Clever blending!

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Felton Road produce three Rieslings: the Dry Reisling, the Riesling (this one) and the Block 1 Riesling, and on a scale of sweetness this sits happily in the middle, with residual sugar of 50 g/L. And it shows it, there is no denying it, but it is not a dessert wine because the initial sweetness is matched on the palate by acid and some lovely minerals. But what I really liked about it was the expansive feel to the palate, beautiful pure fruits, peaches and mandarins, spices, fleshy lemons and oranges, a soft mouthfeel, with all these held in place without seeming flabby. It also has some excellent length, and finished with some sour fruits, minerals and pith. Looking pretty slurpable now, but has the possibility of cellaring too.

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I’ll come right out with it and say that I really do like Central Otago pinot noir. It is not Burgundy and I don’t think it needs to be either. It has a terroir of it’s own. It nearly always smells and tastes of the place in which it was grown, and although it’s often about as subtle as the front row of the All Blacks, it’s still tastes like pinot noir to me.

Aromas of brandied dark cherry, strawberry, earth, beetroot, caramel, dried herbs and spice. On the palate medium to full bodied with spicy earthy dark cherry, strawberry, briar and dried herb flavours. That may sound intense and heavy but the wine really has a nice sense of balance and refinement. Intense yet quite gentle. It has fine grained lightly sappy tannins and clean acidity to balance. Finishes dry, earthy and spicy. Anyway, never mind the tasting, this is a wine for drinking and enjoying. It’s excellent.

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This was consumed blind as part of the Attack of the Clones tasting.

A New World nose, especially as this was served after a couple of Burgundies. Plums and confection, red stalks and red liquorice, some lift, red capsicum and dead-set, tomato sauce. There are lots of sweet fruits but with a vegetal edge, and with time in the glass, some smokiness too. A rich and glossy wine, with the tomato sauce thing really happening, and some slightly coarse tannins. Pretty good stuff.

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I don’t particularily like pinot gris but I think that if you insist on making them then they should, at the very least, taste like pinot gris rather than pinot grigio. This one is certainly a weighty example packed with flavour and I think that Central Otago tends to do this style very well.

Aromas of ripe pear, pez candy and spice. On the palate full bodied and full throttle with intense pear, candy and spice flavours. Its slippery in texture with excellent mouthfeel although the alcohol does intrude slightly. Very long spicy finish. An excellent example of a style that will please many.

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I have seen this wine as a “Value Choice” on lots of wine lists so when I finally got one to try I was keen to see where it fits in. The answer is that it slots in at the simple side. Good, clean, well made Pinot. The nose has cherry with a musk like spice. None of the sweet and sour flavours that I often associate with Central Otago Pinot Noir. The palate is pleasant strawberry with a little musk and candied cherry. Wendy and I had some discussion over its merits and my points, she thinking I am a little mean! But although it is pleasant enough with food (superbly cooked boned leg of lamb) I reckon there are plenty of Aussie wines of equal or better value such as Hardicker? from Cannibal Creek, De Bortoli, Coldstream Hills etc. I may be showing my local bias here but as regular readers will know we have discussed value PN at length here

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I am a bit of a fan of Carrick so I picked up a bottle of this at the duty free a few weeks ago. I wonder if I got the measure of this wine. Maybe I will try it again.

Aromas of berry, leaf litter, dried herbs, a little smoke and some spicy oak. On the palate medium bodied with fresh red fruit, spice and bitter dried herb flavours. More savoury and briary than you would expect for an Otago wine. Quite strong tannins and not particularily deep - I think we are splashing around at the shallow end of the pool here but still having a jolly good time anyway. I suspect this may be better with a few more years bottle age.

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I have had a few complaints recently along the lines of ‘Winorama is turning into Pinorama!’ (or is that Pinotrauma) but rest assured I will be back at the bench shortly and tucking into a whole range of non-pinot wines…but for now I say if you can’t beat em join em. I have had some difficulty with Mt Difficulty over the last few years. I think it was the 2003 that was really quite reductive but this vintage is not only clean as a whistle but really rather nice too.

Attractive clear burgundy colour with aromas of red berry, plum, cinnamon bark, smoke, dried herbs and a sort of sweet smell that reminds me of cola. On the palate medium bodied with red berry, spice, licorice root, cola and dried herb flavours. Tannins are fine, dry and lightly grainy. Slightly sappy but fresh and juicy. This is not a big heavy wine. It has balance and considerable finesse. Finishes dry and lightly sappy but with excellent length of flavour.

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I remember visiting the Gibbston Valley cellar door in 2000. We did a little tour and bought some wine - the 1999 pinot and reserve. They would not let us taste the reserve but I bought a couple anyway. In those days it was about $30 a bottle and the standard was, I think, about $20. Central Otago pricing is a little different these days…

Aromas of dirt and undergrowth, spice, licorice root and fruit - maybe dark cherries but it is quite indistinct. Not what you would call a fruit driven wine. On the palate sour dark cherry, root beer/cola, black tea, dried herbs, soil and spice. Fresh slightly tart acid. Light dry grippy tannins. Good length finishing dry. Really quite attractive - Central Otago meets Vosne Romanee perhaps. Or perhaps I am just being fanciful…

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I have long thought Felton Road to be an excellent producer of Pinot Noir although the price has been getting up there. This opened with a bright colour and lovely cherry nose. The palate had the classic “sweet and sour” spectrum of flavours that I associate with Central Otago. Maybe even a little blackberry and crunchy acid style blueberry with the cherry. Great breadth of flavour that hangs about for some time.

Other vintages : 2005

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Reporting from downtown Matamata, NZ. Choice of two decent red wines on the list. This one or a tempranillo from the Gimblett Gravels sub-region of Hawkes Bay (can’t remember the maker). Tonight I played it safe..although perhaps I should have tried the tempranillo..I am sure Shaggy of Tinto y Blanco would have gone for it but I am risk averse. Better the devil you know as our Kylie might tweet.

Full red colour. Aromas of brandied cherry, berries, cola and spice. On the palate a warming and full flavoured wine with more of the ripe cherry, cola and spice flavours. Some undergrowthy more savoury features. Light fine tannins. Slightly sweet. Warm spicy finish. Nice and easy to drink and it hit the spot with a bit of lamb. Goes all right, nothing too special, but happy with my choice nonetheless.

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I am overwhelmed with envy of Lincoln’s dinner companions. This review is my note of exotica until I discuss a vertical of US Pinots I had on the weekend. This wine was in a brown bag alongside a Chablis. The Chablis was aromatic and this was all toasty oak with fig and peach. The palate showed cool climate citrus characters, toasty oak, nuts and a great acid finish. It seemed like a classic wine of parts, waiting to come together. It was pretty good but at the price even my Oak loving friend The Bishop of Brighton may well resist in favour of a cheaper home grown version. I would like to try it again in a few years time to see how it comes together.

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Friend Neil brought this over for dinner but we placed it in with a clutch of fine Pinots, blind of course. It opened with great aromas of red berries and a bit of dark berry. The palate revealed softness and length that was great before food but seemed a little down alongside a coq au vin. A most enjoyable wine at a price point loaded with excellent competitors. Better value than most village Burgundies but I suspect equalled or better by local Pinots such as Epis 04 maybe even the De Bortoli reviewed by GW. Don’t get me wrong, I think its one of the better NZ PN about at the moment, but ….

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