New Zealand Pinot Noir Tasting - Episode #164

January 11, 2007

Wines tasted in this episode:

• 2003 Spy Valley Pinot Noir
• 2004 Amisfield Pinot Noir Central Otago
• 2003 Black Ridge Pinot Noir

New Zealand Pinot Noir’s are hot, sit back and watch Gary tell you what all the fuss is about.

120 Responses

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1. about 5 months ago

   Stevo Vino

   QOTD: I am spoiled to be a Kiwi, thus partaking in my fair share of Pinot from my homeland. My absolute favourite is Fallen Angel from Central Otago. It is made by Stony Ridge (Waiheke Island) who make the famous Larose bordeaux blend. It is a HUGE wine that brings thunder in bucket loads. 95+ pts. If you can find it, but it. You won’t be disappointed. I think it retails for about $60-70 in NZ.

   Central Otago Pinot rocks!! Great show GV!!

2. about 9 months ago

   Alos

   Great episode I have not actually and I think I will give it a try this weekend! Cheers

3. about 19 months ago

   Mark G

   Spent several weeks going around the south island a few months ago. The pinots varied from raspberry cordial to true Burgundian pinots. Very variable, both in quality and price. The best were Chard farm and Felton Road but there were many other great up and coming. Also other varieties to watch are Pinot gris/grigio

4. about 19 months ago

   Jan Wicher

   we get many NZ wine here in OZ and they are some of the best value wines. Pinot and Sav Blanc are great form over their. Also try some Tassmain Pionts like Stefano Lubiana Wines or Tamar Ridge Wines, they are pushing the point to some new heights.

5. about 19 months ago

   Mark

   Great episode! Have tried Stoneleigh Pinot Noir before. $15 - $20 price range. Good value.

6. about 19 months ago

   Bobby

   Gary,
   I had a Mountford Pinot from New zealand a few years ago in a San Fran. restaurant called Bacar it was very good. Wish I could find it again! Ever heard of it?

7. about 19 months ago

   Jorge

   Hi Gary,

   Been watching for a while, I have a question? is it good to decant pinot noir?
   It would be nice to know when you should or you shouldn’t decant a wine and for how long.
   And I dont mean by the age of the wine, but the varietal of the grape.

   Are there any references out there?

8. about 19 months ago

   Lawrence Leichtman

   Have had Pinots, Sauvignon Blancs and Merlots from NZ. The merlots are really good if you haven’t tried them. Pinots so far haven’t been great for me but the SB’s wow. The merlots were also a pleasant surprise.

9. about 19 months ago

   esteban

   We drove around the North Island of New Zealand and decided to head east due to the dry looking weather on that side and the wet drizzle in the center around lake Taupo (big trout, though). Found a hotel we liked in Napier and then realized we were in the Hawkes Bay Wine area. The next day we tasted several and liked Trinity Hills Pinot Noir. They seemed very hopeful for Pinot future, spoke in botanical terms: Clone 5(an old french) and Clone 667 (newer french, earlier ripening) among others. The winemaker was there, a John Hancock, whose signature appears on the label (label fans! I soaked and kept the label). Anyway, the Hawkes Bay Pinot Noir 2004 was real smooth and fruity in spite of being very young.
   Their latitude is alot like Sonoma, i.e. 38, and I think they got the grapes from as far south as possible, like 39S. The south island we did not see, which would be the latitude 40-50, like Burgundy. On this trip I learned to love white wine for the first time (Marlbourough SauvB). That nose to my uneducated senses seemed very perfumy and unique. We also liked the Napier area blended red wines in which they were smoothing out the stalky notes of Cabernet of their area with Merlot. Don’t hold me to all this as this is just from memory. Recommend NZ to all!

10. about 19 months ago

    Eric

    QOD: The only New Zealand Pinot Noir I’ve ever had was the Matua Valley 2003 from Marlborough. I believe it was also my first Pinot Noir ever.

11. about 19 months ago

    Tim Tamblin

    Never thought to try a NZ Pinot however, have had the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc and could have just as easily gone out to my front lawn, rolled in the grass and had just as close of an experience that would have lasted considerably longer. I think the Grass Monster cannot be underestimated and should be taken just as seriously as his cousin, you know who…

12. about 19 months ago

    Ken

    We went to the south island of new zealand on our honeymoon a few years back and were completely blown away by the pinot noirs, especially the ones we had at a small winery in Queenstown called Chard Farm (in particular their Finla Mor). They’re reasonably priced wines ($20-25), but, unfortunately, I don’t believe they’re distributed to the US & they charge a fortune to ship (almost $200 per case) - but, I’m sure you can find a way to try them out!

    Keep up the good work!

    Ken
    San Francisco, CA

13. about 19 months ago

    Sherri

    Gary,
    I have a feeling your wife is going to be giving you a lesson on doing a “bundle” of laundry when you get back from LA after seeing this! Just remember to keep the reds out of the load with the whites and you’ll be fine (otherwise you get pink socks).

    QOD: Never had NZ PN but will look for it to give it a try…

    GO PATS (sorry)

14. about 19 months ago

    yowens44

    Bundle of laundry? Come on now. Planning my wine trip to New Zealand!!!

15. about 19 months ago

    Louisiana George

    Do tell - what original Nintendo cartridges did you have on display for us?

    Louisiana George

16. about 19 months ago

    Luigi

    I like your add in Wine Spectator! That is a great idea! By the way, NZ is not better than the awsome oregon PN’s. Oregon rules!

17. about 19 months ago

    Eyeguy

    Never done the laundry?????

    Wow, am I jealous!

18. about 19 months ago

    Kathy Hughes

    Denise, Thanks for the link, it prompted me to vote and I did; nice going. Naples Kathy

19. about 19 months ago

    jon777

    Nice ep… Thanks, Gary!

    QOTD: Don’t believe I’ve tried a NZ PN — but will seek one out soon!

20. about 19 months ago

    Deano

    Gary nice show!!! I voted for you for the wine awards so I hope you seal the win I need to seek the last two wines out for sure. I am a fan of pinot mostly. However QOTD: I have never had one from new zealand I will take your advice and hop on the new zealand pinot bandwagon thanks.

21. about 19 months ago

    Gil Few

    I bought a Pinot Noir (New Zealand) limited edition wine kit (2004). I bottled it in 2005. Young it shows great promise. I was skeptical buying it because I had always drunk Ore or Cal Noirs. It was highly touted at the time so I took the plunge. I think it shows promise of being an incredible Pinot.

22. about 19 months ago

    michael J Vino

    #99. Like Mark Gastineau himself. “She likes pinot…perfect.”

23. about 19 months ago

    Celia

    thanks for the reply, stanvh!

24. about 19 months ago

    Miguelo DiMarco

    I’ve never had any wine from New Zealand and not a big Pinot fan (never purchased a bottle)

    Regarding forming a WINE TASTING event: the Bay Area (Nor.Cal.) is [ironically] so lackluster for wine enthusiasts, I would dare not try. –>>There’s an online activity group here with 100’s of active members and someone posted a Wine Tasting event (at the house of a nice-looking female, no less) and only 2 people signed up for it (and one of them was me) so the event was cancelled. -that’s sad

    Besides the ghetto-heads here, it’s predominantly polyannas. I miss the East Coast and the Big D.

25. about 19 months ago

    ThomasS

    Good! Your wrestling puppet is back!

    QOTD: A few months ago I went to a small fair organised for the personel of the university of Leuven to taste some wines and buy the selcted ones with our wine tasting group (Orbis “Fratres Organoleptici”). Huge disappointment: half of the merchants did not know anything about what they were selling. Just imagine: I tasted an Amours toujours of Allée Bleu (you definitely have to seek that one out, it’s outrageous) and asked what the blend was. The guy took the bottle and looked at the back label. There was nothing of that information on it. So he turned at his wife and said: “Honey do we actually have a booklet of this wine”. Gruesome. It makes me mad. They could as well have sold bottled horse pee and not knowing it. Is it so difficult to know just the basics about a wine when you have only 20 bottles on your table?
    Anyway, QOTD: one of the merchants that really knew his stuff was the one of Ad Bibendum, a huge importer of Aussie and NZ wines in Belgium. I tasted some and bought a few bottles of Seresin’s Sauvignon Blanc and some of Pikes’ Shiraz (great). Just when I was going to leave the fair, that same guy came to me and said: “You know what, I have something more for you to taste”, and he opened a bottle of Seresin Estate Pinot Noir. I must say you that I am so sorry I tasted it: pure strawberry, damp leaves, rainwater, some cassis, a movingly silky mouthfeel and superb balance. It’s one of those wines you’d almost cry for. But I am sorry I tasted it: € 32 /bottle. A bit to much for my student budget. It’s high on my wish list however!

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