Pinot Palooza Top 10

Vineyard:  Settlement Vineyard Subregion:  Omaka Valley | Southern Valleys Region:  Marlborough  Vintage:  2020 Soil Type:  Shallow layer of wind-blown loess over low vigour clay loams. Clone:  Dijon clone 777 Viticulture:  BioGro certified organic and Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand Certified (SWNZ). Growers:  Sutherland, Healy and Beattie families  Viticulturist:  Nigel Sowman  Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW) Certified Winemaker's Notes:  This is our second release of the impressive Settlement Vineyard Pinot Noir. Located in the Omaka Valley in the...

Sit back and take in the aromas from a glass of this pinot as you think about sitting at the top of the vineyard surrounded by cows, water, grass and all things Western District. Sweat and sour cherries, earth, spice and a lovely elegant structure. The vineyard was planted by the Calvert family in 2001 to a mixture of clones on own roots. It is predominantly pinot noir with 6 acres and accompanied by 2 acres of chardonnay.   The vineyard sits at the top of the slope facing large water reserves ‘Salt Lake’ and the ‘Calvert Lough’ to the north. It is a site that shows great fruit expression with a deceptively long...

Robert Parker  - 2016: 92 p., 2017: 92 p.,  Vinous  - 2017: 90 p., I Vini di Veronelli  - 2017: 90 p., Winecritic  - 2017: 93 p., Falstaff  - 2017: 90 p., 2018: 90 p. James Suckling  - 2018: 93 p., 2019: 92 p., TASTING NOTES – brilliant ruby red – expressive bouquet of cherries, violets and marzipan – an abundance of cherry fruit on the palate, smooth with fine, elegant tannins.   #ALTO

Wine Advocate 92 points. This is a terrific entry-level red that offers plenty of varietal typicity with a very attractive price tag. The Cantina Kaltern 2020 Alto Adige Pinot Nero delivers all the goods: freshness, elegance and a no-fuss style to pair with white meat or even a spaghetti allo scoglio with seafood and chopped tomato, if served a few degrees chilled. I'd suggest buying this wine by the case, not by the bottle, and make sure to drink it while all that beautiful primary fruit is still intact. Some 95,000 bottles were made.ML Sep 2021.   #Alto

James Halliday Wine Companion 96 points. From the Sexton vineyard in Gruyere, planted on the same grey clay as the Applejack vineyard; 50% whole bunches and 50% destemmed. Matured 11 months in French barriques (20% new). Bottled unfined and unfiltered. A dark, deep crimson. A more robust Yarra Valley pinot with its aromas of dark cherries, black plum and a dried-earth character that makes it quite different to the other Giant Step single-vineyard pinots. Sweetly fruited, concentrated and structured on the palate, what this impressive wine doesn't have in finesse, it makes up for in power and grunt. This should still be looking good, 10,...

Michael Cooper 98 points:   "Deeply coloured, it is mouthfilling, with concentrated plummy, spicy flavours, youthful and complex, and a finely textured, lasting finish. Set for a long life, it’s well worth cellaring."  Michael Cooper    5 stars - Winestate. Winery Note: Our estate grown Pinot Noir with generous richness & flavour concentration. Layers of ripe fruit, floral and spice unfold on the palate with a delicate tannin line. Unfined and bottled on site. Over 60% of our vines are Pinot Noir and the whole reason we exist on these limestone slopes is to make great Pinot. These calcareous clay soils...

97 points, Vinodabere Magazine, Best Pinots of Italy, 2024. "Truly a great Pinot Nero, aristocratic like its origins, a study in power and complexirty....."     Made with Pinot Noir grapes, aged in oak barrels for up to 14 months Pinot Noir is a relatively uncommon grape variety in Piedmont, but it is very important for our family's winemaking tradition. In fact, we gave this wine the name of our ancestor Leopoldo Incisa della Rocchetta, among the first ampelography and wine scientist, who lived in the 1800s. Leopoldo Incisa created at the time a vast collection of vines from other regions, experimenting with the...

This wine has been handled with kid gloves: hand picked and destemmed, 10% retained as whole bunches. Held in cold soak for three days, open fermented with thrice daily plunging; eight days on skins, then matured in French puncheons for eight months. The colour is excellent, and the abundant red fruits and superfine tannins are as good as they come. A new Hunter Valley style that challenges the idea that the Hunter is too hot for pinot noir. 95 points. James Halliday Published 14 February 2023. This rare wine is produced from the original pinot noir vines brought to Australia by James Busby.in 1833. 

Whole berry/bunch open fermentation for 3 weeks; matured for 10 months in French oak. The Willowlake vineyard is one of the first to venture to the Upper Yarra. Balance is the key word for this beautiful pinot, the red cherry/berry fragrance is mirrored by the palate, where delicate but clear savoury notes of spice are woven through the red fruit palate and aftertaste. 97 points. James Halliday Published 20 November 2022.   Halliday Wine Companion - 97pts “Trophy winner for the Best Yarra Valley Pinot at the 2023 Australian Pinot Challenge. A bright, medium crimson red. A glorious and pure bouquet redolent with red and black...

  GOLD MEDAL, SYDNEY ROYAL WINE AWARDS 2024 GOLD MEDAL, ROYAL QUEENSLAND WINE AWARDS 2024   COLOUR Light garnet. AROMA Perfumed aromas of ripe plum, raspberry and dark cherry supported by subtle oak spice. PALATE Bright and juicy red fruit flavours upfront are underscored by a dense core of dark cherry and supple oak tannin. CELLARING Exceptional drinking over the next five to seven years. James Halliday Wine Companion 90 points. A bright and light, ginger-spiced rendition of pinot noir that shows fruit characters of raspberry, red cherry and cranberry along with hints of fine spice, charcuterie, a...