There are a number of theories about the meteoric rise of pinot noir as the beverage of choice among many wine enthusiasts. That movie gets much of the credit/blame, of course, but I have a slightly more altruistic notion.
I am of the humble opinion that pinots are simply better than ever, that grape growers and winemakers are more dialed in, and that pinot love simply needed a trigger, given that the world at large has always had a romance with red Burgundy.
Evidence of my first point abounds. A few years back I discovered Black Kite, a small producer in California’s Anderson Valley making stunning vineyard-designate wines. More recently I’ve been amazed by two Russian River/Sonoma Coast producers — Sojourn and Freestone.
And just the other day I had my assistant set up a tasting of 40 wines and was absolutely blown away by four vineyard-designate pinots from Craggy Range of New Zealand.
These four pinots (Bannockburn Sluicings, Zebra, Te Muna Road and Calvert) from the 2007 vintage, ranging in price from $39 to $50, are among the finest New World pinots I’ve ever tasted. They were strikingly consistent, and all four shared a few appealing similarities, most notably a strong thread of minerality throughout and floral notes that were consistent in all four wines.
I have reviewed them in this week’s Reviews section and all four received ratings of 92 points or higher. Best of all, I believe these four from Craggy Range possess the ability to improve with age. Longevity is one aspect that has been missing from many New World pinots.
In fact, I believe all four will be performing admirably long after the memory of that movie has faded.
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