Returning home, flights of riesling, chardonnay and pinot noir awaited me as I settled back into work with my tasting colleague Mr Collins. Both of us were wowed by the wines, and scoring them sometimes seemed like splitting hairs!
2022 Maude Central Otago Pinot Noir
Rating Excellent
Fragrant nose
leading with red
fruits & wood smoke
with growing
florality. Powerfully
expressed palate,
intense, youthful ripe
red fruits, oak
spices, a savoury
undertone adding to
the mix. Nice grip
and chewiness in the
mouth, good carry
and a tiny bittersweet
note neatly
tempering the fruit
sweetness. Already
drinking well.
2022 Two Paddocks Central Otago Pinot Noir
Rating Outstanding
A beguiling nose
draws you in, earthy/
hummus notes,
raspberry, spices,
berry coulis, wisp of
herb, intrigue.
Wonderful definition,
raspberry, cherry,
berryfruit, savoury
touches, depth to the
fruit expression yet
pinosity too. Delightful
grainy character flows
to super lip-smacking
sapidity, flavours
hanging in the mouth.
Vibrant, refreshing and
speaks of potential.
2019 Akitu A2 Central Otago Pinot Noir
Rating Excellent
Spices leap from the
glass, savoury, earthy,
iron filing minerality,
wild herb, fruit
supporting. Clear fruit
ripeness yet a nicely
dry expression,
savoury again,
licorice/anise, plum &
raspberry filling the
palate, wild herbs in
the supporting role.
Perhaps a wisp of
salinity driving the
freshness? Fine
tannins, deceptive
power, developing an
attractive tanginess.
2022 Carrick Billet-Doux Bannockburn Pinot Noir
Rating Excellent
Fragrance &
brightness, blueberry,
mixed berries, lead
pencil, some subtlety.
Palate brims with
flavour, blueberry &
cherry, spice notes
hinting at licorice,
bright, zesty and all
about the fruit. Supple
up front, the tannins
neatly in support with
a growing
crunchiness on the
energetic finish. Nose
opens up with
aeration, you just want
to savour a glass.
2019 Akitu A1 Central Otago Pinot Noir
Rating Outstanding
Wonderful florality, a
sense of some
development, lanolin,
savoury qualities,
elegance, tilled earth
with time. Again the
palate is driven by
complexity rather than
fruit, savoury notes,
schist/crushed rocks,
spices, ripe yet dry.
This really grows with
time, deceptive
structure a corset, a
refreshing quality and
a sense of refinement.
This is rather classy.
2021 Maude Mohawk Hill Lowburn Pinot Noir
Rating Excellent
Youthfully expressive
nose, darker fruits,
boysenberry, bonfire
embers, savoury
aspects, wisps of
violetty florality. Tangy
juiciness to the fruit,
crunchy, lively, bursting
with flavour, an
engaging ‘come hither’
quality shouting ‘drink
me’! The nose & palate
open up, oak char and
savoury tones appear,
added complexity a
reminder that further
improvement is on the
cards.
