2020 Central Otago Pinot Noir

The 2020 Burn Cottage Vineyard Pinot Noir is spicy, savory and fine. leading with wild thyme and dried herbs, cherry, blood plum skin, white pepper, tobacco and brine. The wine is less supple than the Moonlight Race, which is immediately appealing and open, but far more complex and unfurling through the finish. This is long and complex and intriguing in its outlay of flavor. It is floral, but it has a swathe of sweet meat character that just sits at the perimeter of the wine. There’s raw cocoa and a hint of black tea to close. Exciting wine. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

The 2020 Pinot Noir Burn Cottage Vineyard is not a wine that I want to deconstruct into its components as it exemplifies balance, harmony and completeness, and I want to drink a lot of it. It is a wine that is the sum of its parts rather than its individual elements. It is young and can be approached now, but deserves bottle aging. It is full-bodied and suave but being from Central Otago - at the bottom of the earth next stop penguins - it has a sense of coolness and freshness, enlivening its entirety and retaining a sense of melodic direction among the mellow bass sections. There's a very small percentage of whole clusters (7%) that combine with the natural garrigue notes of Central Otago Pinot to provide herbal lift alongside pure cherry fruit and carefully judged oak.

A tight, fine pinot with aromas of cloves, licorice, dark cherries, lemons and grilled herbs. Medium-bodied with tight tannins. Spicy and savory with a precise, lengthy finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.