February 13, 2017

New Zealand Pinot Noir: some top examples from Marlborough

 I’ve tasted a lot of New Zealand Pinot Noir over recent weeks. Here are some of my favourite picks from Marlborough. This is New Zealand’s largest wine region, and it has more Pinot Noir (2400 hectares) than any other region (Central Otago is second with 1500 hectares). The best sites are in the Southern Valleys (with more consistent soils, with some clay, which suits Pinot better than the braided alluvial soils), and in some bits of the Awatere. This is a selection of some of the best examples from the region that I tried at Pinot 2017. [Please note, I've not listed all the wines that scored 93 here.]