Central Otago Pinot Noir

I'm new to this forum thing but I would love to get an international ranging opinion on C.O Pinot and where it stacks up next to your regular/local pinots. It would be interesting to know their availability and perhaps an idea of price. I am based in Queenstown and am very fortunate to be able to taste the wines regularly but we don't see many non-NZ pinots availale.

I have just visited Gibbston Valley Wines with a restaurantuer friend of mine and we sampled their range of pinots back to the 2000 vintage with Noel the host there. The ex winemaker at Gibbston, Grant Taylor, happened to pop in and invited is up to his soon-to-be-converted shearing shed in the valley to taste his current 06 wines from Valli.
Here are my notes.

All the wines at Gibbston were tasted from the tasting machines so some were open longer than others.
2000 Gibbston Valley Reserve Pinot Noir - Tawny/garnet colour, bright with clear rim. Earth, stalk and bottle-aged characters on the nose. Dark brooding fruit - black cherry, wild mushroom. Savoury with a springy texture showing good acidity, oak intergration and superior length. Presence in the mouth with a juicy finish. (this wine is $450 NZ dollars a bottle at cellar door with a local restaurant recently selling 3 bottles at 750 each)
2001 Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir - Bright raspberry red with a clear rim. Light and bright. Strawberry and aged charcters initially with red cherry, earth, mushroom and hung meat following. Beautiful cherry liqueur flavours as it opens up with a vibrnat palate, high acidity and a touch hot on the finish.
2002 Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir - Red cherry colour, day bright with vibrant strawberry, cherry and raspberry very much in the 02 C.O. style. Some aged, savoury characters showing but heaps of sweet fruit and spice - cinnamon and pepper. Strawberry jam on the finish. Firm tannins with a medium to long finish.
2002 Gibbston Valley Reserve Pinot Noir - Tawny, garnet colour with clear rim. Deeper colour than the 00. Cherry liqueur and sweet black cherry on the nose. Faint touch of heat but not off-putting. Bakewell tart comes to mind (one for the British - a kirsch/cherry sweet tart) with floral notes - violets. v\Very fresh and vibrant with a long finish. Heaps of potential with much more promising on the nose than delivering on the palate. Tannins still firm on the finish. Lots of prescence.
2004 Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir - Bright strawberry red. Sour cherry, earth, mushroom and a citrus note. Red grapefruit flavours on the palate. Sweet and sour with a medium finish.
2005 Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir - Dark ruby, purple flush and very bright. Pink hue. Sweet black cherry and a touch of earth. Soft texture - full and rounded. A real mouthfull of fruit. Shows a fruit basket of strawberry, raspberry, black cherry and sweet plum. Hints of cinnamon and meat. Think jam(jelly) but in a good way.
2005 Gibbston Valley Reserve Pinot Noir - Very bright cherry red with a tight pink hue. Bacon and French oak initially leading to a beautifully textured palate. Springy and expansive. The most elegant of the bunch with the fruit, bacon and oak intergrated. Strawberry, fig and sweet spice with a long finish - still needs time but my favourite.
2006 Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir - Sweet black cherry, bacon fat and yeast. Black fruit jam and pastry. Still young but plenty happening. Showing evidence of a warm vintage with cooked fig/porty characters.
2006 Gibbston Valley Reserve Pinot Noir - i'll get back to on this one as it is still a baby, my palate was tired and lunch arrived.
Valli tasting notes to follow.

Welcome Paul - nice to see another Kiwi here.
Just out of interest, how many other than Central Otago New Zealand pinot noirs do you see in your neck of the woods?
As for non NZ - even in Auckland they are hard to find. A few Burgs, to be sure, but very little from the USA or even Australia. It's hard to compare. I still think nothing beats a good Burg - possibly because we have a culture of drinking our own wines young.

I can't believe the price of the GV 2000 Reserve PN. They obviously don't want to sell it.

BTW - Your name sounds familiar.

Hi Sue - you may remember me from the Sommelier of the Year comp 06. You were one of the judges. Most of the shops in Queenstown are dedicated to local pinot, the restaurants too. Dunedin is a different story, price being an issue and less of the tourist dollar available. Obviously we have access to the cellar doors also. As for non Cental, there is a fair selection. Shops will try to bring in comparisons from top producers in Martinborough and Waipara and Malborough seema to take up the lower price section. Marlborough does seem to do cheaper pinot better. Its very difficult for restaurants to sell anything but C.O.Pinot and Marl Sav. The tourists lap it up and the population here is still small.

[Jenise]

Paul, I haven't seen that many Central Otago pinots, but I have had Valli (not exported here, but a gift from a friend who travelled there--and who didn't understand the temperature issue relative to wine), and more recently Quartz Reef and a Felton Road which were very good and outstanding (a word I don't toss around lightly) respectively, certainly world class, and obviously nothing alike in terms of style but which both showed the power possible from this region. I'd love to try more. Many more.

Here's my TN on the Felton Road, just for instance:

2002 Felton Road Pinot Noir (NZ) – I was so engrossed with this wine that I failed to write down anything except "fabulous". What I found so engrossing, having been on a pinot binge lately, was that this didn't fit into any of my recent memory pigeon holes. It seemed young, with more openness and less acidity than I'd expect from a Burgundy of this age, and yet it was not as sweet as a New World wine normally is with this kind of concentration. In another class from other recent kiwis I've had. Outstanding.

I am a retailer here in Oregon and I had the pleasure of meeting Grant Taylor from Valli. I got to taste his 2004 Bannockburn and Waitaki. I liked the Waitaki better because it was showing more aromatics, spice and intensity. They changed importers about 6 months ago and are now with RO Imports who also have Dry River, Eradus, and Te Awa.

Personally I've preferred Martinborough (both the region and the eponymous producer) over Central Otago to date... However still have an open mind and have a bottle of 2003 Kawarau Reserve to open sometime. The endeavour in the region appears to be great, so I'm intrigued in their progress.

Did also enjoy the book 'Pinot Pioneers' which was more interesting than those sort of regional books can be.

regards

Ian

For the record, I would also say that Martinborough is my favorite NZ Pinot area because they just seem to get this great earthiness that adds to the aromatics and complexity on the palate. I got to visit there in June 2006. We had a great time.
The only areas we visited were Martinborough, Marlborough, and Nelson. It was a great time. I took lots of Oregon wines and got to sit down with lots of the local winery people to compare and contrast. The people were absolutely great. I am hoping to make it back there in January 2010 for their next Pinot conference. I do want to visit some of the rest the next time I am back.

2002 Felton Road Pinot Noir (NZ) – I was so engrossed with this wine that I failed to write down anything except "fabulous". ..... Outstanding.

Felton Road now has the status of 'cult' but perhaps they do deserve it. We opened a bottle of the 1999 in August last year. It was absolutely magnificent. 1999 was a very good vintage for Central Otago pinot noir.
I wondered about the high alcohols in many 2002 Central Otago pinot noirs - but your note shows the Felton Road, at least, is holding out very well. My own notes for this wine are extremely complimentary too but last tasted in 2004. The Felton Roads always have the savoury complexity. The 2006 'standard' Felton Road has it. Even better is the Felton Road Block 3 Pinot Noir 2006 - which shouldn't be opened for at least three years. I'd rate it as one of the best C.O. wines of the decade, so far. Rippon Lake Wanaka Pinot Noir 2003 is another.
Still, the best Pinot Noir I tasted last year came from Burgundy - Joseph Drouhin Les Amoureuses 1996.

I haven't tasted too many 2006 vintage Central Otago Pinot Noirs and I've only got a couple in my 'wines to taste box', but I've tasted a fair few from Martinborough and the surrounding Wairarapa - and the 2006 wines from that region are absolute rippers. Right back to top form. It would be worth stocking up on these as it was an extremely low volume harvest in Martinborough in 2007.

At a tasting last year at Savour NZ we were able to try 5 Martinborough Pinots against 5 Central Otago all from the same vintage (03) and the Martinborough examples did seem to show better. They had more structure and savoury complexities. I don't have the tasting notes but it included lots of the big boys(Escarpment, Martinborough, Felton Rd, Quartz Reef) and I think the general feeling in the room swayed towards the north island.
I think there is still lots of rustic winemaking here in Central and Martinborough has more experience. There is no doubting that Central has the terroir for pinot though. Heres to the future.

2006 Valli Gibbston Pinot Noir - intense bright red colour with ripe red berry fruits and hints of sweet spice and perfume. The key feature to this wine is the acidity, with low tannins but a raciness giving the wine length and structure. My favourite of the 3 for drinking now. Show Gibbston can be a real winner in a warmer year.
2006 Valli Bannockburn Pinot Noir - masses of sweet black cherry (a key B'Burn feature) on the nose with plum, cocoa and coffee following. Nicely balanced oak flavours and a long, grippy palate. Showing lots more tannins than the Gibbston. The vineyard is 20 miles away from the Gibsston Vineyerd but shows a totally different fruit spectrum and tannin structure. Would suit meaty dishes such as Venison or Roast Lamb.
2006 Valli Waitaki Pinot Noir- a lean style with excellent balance and poise. The key character is the perfumed, talcam powder nose. I've sniffed it before on a couple of 04 Waitaki wines and its very attractive. Strawberry, fresh raspberry and cherries on the palate. Grant Taylor reckons this is the most Burgundian of his 3 wines. Grown in limestone soil in North Otago - NZ's newest wine region.

Paul
Martinborough has the advantage of older vines and (as you say) of having learned from past successes & failures. Central Otago is still young and the promise definitely remains, though there seems to have been a danger of over-hyping them before the region has matured. One to keep an eye on for sure, so your notes are very much appreciated.
regards
Ian