Mt. Difficulty Pinot Noir 2005 Tuesday, Jul 15 2008
Tasting Notes and New Zealand and Central Otago and Variety and Red and pinot noir
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
Rated : 93 Points
Tasted : Nov07
Alcohol : 14%
Price : $60
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2007 - 2012
Source : Friend
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6 Responses to “Mt. Difficulty Pinot Noir 2005”
July 15th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
David - $60 for this seems a bit steep considering you can get hold of top end Aus PN (Kooyong Single Vin, By Farr, Main Ridge etc) for roughly the same price - and many estate PNs such as yours for $20 less. I did a tasting of about 20 Central Otago pinots recently and most seemed good, but none outstanding. I’ve heard much hype about Otago, but frankly I’m not getting it (must be the Olympics/Bledisloe coming up with all this trans-tasman rivalry).
July 15th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
It is a matter of style really. In essence I agree with your thoughts, we have some great PN here. I greatly prefer the Kooyong to their single vineyard stuff and prefer Farr the younger to the older and as for mine and Main Ridge, well, we do seem to consume a bit of each others wine so I like em. Some would ask about Tassie which once again is a stylistic choice. I also see similarities in style between the older Farr and Ashton Hills so yes we have some great home grown Pinots that are also good value. I will continue to benchmark with French, US and NZ wines but you also need to understand I prefer Pinot with elegance and finesse rather than those with lots of body.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
So David, from your post, in terms of elegance and finesse along with good structure & the ability to improve with age: would you be suggesting that Farr Rising, Main Ridge and Kooyong Estate (and without expecting a response Eldridge Estate) are Australian examples worth consideration? Are there others along these lines worth taking a look at?
July 15th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Farr the younger is relatively new and I have no experience with old stuff. Main Ridge (MRE) I have experience going back many years. Kooyong first vintage was 1999. Eldridge vines are 23 years old but my wines only go back to 1997. I am happy with MRE 99, thought Kooyong 99 is going, Eldridge is still elegant although with a bit of tomato leaf, Paringa was OK. BUT, we have all made huge progress and our vines are older so it is a new game. The point of Winorama is that you get to see PN reviews with a vague concept on age prospects but nobody can be certain of that. Once you find a style you like buy sufficient quantity that you can observe. Some producers including Hillcrest provide older vintages at release days that enable you to see for yourself. I have tipped fine wines down the drain worth heaps and auctioned the rest because I didn’t like them yet others present loved them. I seem to recall getting huge $ for some Latours that I found revolting yet some of my mates loved, but couldn’t afford close to the $ I got from auction.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Thanks David - all part of the enjoyment & fascination of following wines as they age and winemakers as they develop I suppose - a new game for me. As a relative newcomer to all of this it does also seem to me that increasing vine age over time, especially for some of the ‘newer’ varietal/regional combinations in Australia, will be another interesting factor to observe.
Cheers…
July 16th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
David - thanks. This shows why the comments more than points are so valuable. I just made a case purchase last week of Farr Seniors - I love the sour fruit profile and find that his wines (going back to Bannockburn days) cellar really well. I have staid away from Ashton Hills though as i had read that they don’t (cellar well that is).