Pinot envy
Claudine Earley16/09/2009 12:00:00 a.m.
PINOTPHILES, it’s time to start saving your pennies.
Pinot Noir 2010, featuring 100 wineries and plenty of tastings, is just over four months away (February 1-4).
Programme highlights include the Winemaker’s Party on the opening night, a tasting of the 2003 vintage, now at peak maturity, and an experiment to test the theory that sustainable viticultural practices have a postive effect on a wine’s character.
Here are a couple to look out for at the first tasting, an exploration of regional expressions of the 2007 vintage.
From the Hawkes Bay Lime Rock White Knuckle Hill 2007 Pinot Noir ($39.50) is named after the colour winemaker Rodger’s hands turn when he takes the tractor up this particularly precipitous slope.
No need for white knuckles when you drink it though. The wine shows coffee and cherry balanced by aromas from the terroir: lime chalk and herb open up to blackcurrent and lanolin. Like dipping a lamb in ribena. Cherry flavours are mouthfilling, with redcurrent at the end on a nice dry finish.
Wine of the week:
Martinborough wine Vynfields Reserve Pinot Noir 2007 ($49) is proud to be certified organic and a multiple-award winner. The bouquet reflects the complexity of the wine, with its layers of fruit and savoury characters. In the mouth, ripe cherries tail off into a long toffee finish.
Pinot Noir 2010, featuring 100 wineries and plenty of tastings, is just over four months away (February 1-4).
Programme highlights include the Winemaker’s Party on the opening night, a tasting of the 2003 vintage, now at peak maturity, and an experiment to test the theory that sustainable viticultural practices have a postive effect on a wine’s character.
Here are a couple to look out for at the first tasting, an exploration of regional expressions of the 2007 vintage.
From the Hawkes Bay Lime Rock White Knuckle Hill 2007 Pinot Noir ($39.50) is named after the colour winemaker Rodger’s hands turn when he takes the tractor up this particularly precipitous slope.
No need for white knuckles when you drink it though. The wine shows coffee and cherry balanced by aromas from the terroir: lime chalk and herb open up to blackcurrent and lanolin. Like dipping a lamb in ribena. Cherry flavours are mouthfilling, with redcurrent at the end on a nice dry finish.
Wine of the week:
Martinborough wine Vynfields Reserve Pinot Noir 2007 ($49) is proud to be certified organic and a multiple-award winner. The bouquet reflects the complexity of the wine, with its layers of fruit and savoury characters. In the mouth, ripe cherries tail off into a long toffee finish.
