2014 Marlborough Pinot Noir

Light blueish crimson. Light nose with some delicacy and lift. Very subtle. Fragrant rather than a whack of ripe fruit. Marked but well-integrated acidity. (JR)

Mid crimson. Perfumed, highly aromatic red fruit brought into line with a touch of spice and a hint of that whole-bunch freshness - not in the least unripe but adding a savoury note. This is just gorgeous on the palate, sensual, deep and long but also fresh and vital. There's finesse to the tannins but they are bold enough to shape the framework for the fruit. You can tell this is a wine made by someone steeped in the best of both Burgundy and New Zealand. There's sweetness to the fruit but sufficient savour and spice to make it a complete wine, with, as Jancis would say, a beginning, a middle and an end. And it has terrific length. This has to be the best Marlborough Pinot I have tasted.

This is the personal project of international consultant and Saint Clair winemaker Matt Thomson and his wife (and MW student) Sophie Parker-Thomson. This Pinot Noir is sourced from a single vineyard planted in 2001, situated in the old clay soils of the Waihopai Valley in Marlborough. The soil naturally gives low yields, but the vines were also crop thinned during the ripening of the fruit. As a result the berries were small and concentrated with flavour. It is made exclusively from Clone 115, a Dijon clone with tannins and strong fruit. The handpicked bunches were cold-soaked for five days before undergoing wild fermentation. Lots of hand-plunging took place and a large proportion of whole-bunch fermentation (50%). Low-toast oak regime of new and seasoned oak, and barrel maturation of 10 months. Unfiltered. TA 5.5 g/l, pH 3.42. Mid crimson. Perfumed, highly aromatic red fruit brought into line with a touch of spice and a hint of that whole-bunch freshness – not in the least unripe but adding a savoury note. This is just gorgeous on the palate, sensual, deep and long but also fresh and vital. There's finesse to the tannins but they are bold enough to shape the framework for the fruit. You can tell this is a wine made by someone steeped in the best of both burgundy and New Zealand. There's sweetness to the fruit but sufficient savour and spice to make it a complete wine, with, as Jancis would say, a beginning, a middle and an end. And it has terrific length. This has to be the best Marlborough Pinot I have tasted. (JH)