New Zealand

Firm and tight licorice, graphite, slate and light dried strawberry. Goes to iron. Flowers. Medium body. Creamy and fine tannins with a rather dusty finish. Fresh acidity and long and linear finish. Structured. From biod...(read more)

The 2024 Bannockburn Pinot Noir is dark fruited and plush, with nutmeg biscuit and cranberry, blood plum and mulberry. The wine is exotic and peppered with baking spices—one assumes this is via the oak rather than the fr...(read more)

A cooler year, made even more difficult to manage because of Covid complications. Yet these are classical Rippon wines. An attractive mid-ruby color. The fruit comes out immediately, suggesting a wine to drink before the...(read more)

Destemmed directly into open-top fermenters without pumping, with 20% retained as whole clusters. Ambient-yeast fermentation with a moderately long maceration on skins. Aged for 13 months in 25% new French oak. No

The 2023 Pinot Noir Calvert is a herbal, scented expression that gives the sense you've just crushed a bouquet garni. It's full, concentrated and sumptuous with ripe black cherries, raspberries and cream. Like...(read more)

The 2022 Pinot Noir MacMuir is a little reductive from the start, which initially mutes the pure fruit, but it shakes that off to reveal a tender, mid-weight wine with round shoulders. However, the conclusion has a sense...(read more)

The 2023 Pinot Noir Block 3 is not quite as fruity as the rest of the range, being a little more floral and restrained. It is taut and focused with excellent precision and tension. Festive spiced cake, blackberry and wil...(read more)

No great density of colour, and one of the softer style bouquets. You have to go searching for it a little bit. Fresh cherry, a little strawberry, not quite complete through to the back of the palate, lighter on tannins...(read more)