Reviews
Bob Campbell MW – 95/100
Aromatic with juicy cherry, plum, mineral and spice flavours. A backbone of fine, ripe tannins perfectly supports subtle fruit. Elegant, supple wine with cellaring potential. Aug 2017
The Wine Advocate #228 –Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW 90+/100
Medium garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Earnscleugh Vineyard Pinot Noir gives fragrant notes of crushed red and black cherries, red currants and wild thyme with a hint of violets. Medium-bodied, it has a great core of expressive red berry flavors supported by grainy tannins and refreshing acid, finishing with a pleasant herbal lift.- Dec 2016
Michael Cooper – Michael Cooper’s Wine Buyer’s Guide to NZ Wines – 4 1/2 STARS
The graceful 2015 vintage (4.5*) is already delicious, but well worth cellaring. Matured in French oak barriques (28 per cent new), it is deep ruby, with rich, vibrant, plummy flavours, gentle tannins, savoury notes adding complexity, and an invitingly scented bouquet. Oct 2016
Otago Daily Times – Mark Henderson Rating: Outstanding
Youthful, bold and juicy with raspberry, rhubarb, spices and black tea. The palate opens with spice, cherry, rhubarb and raspberry showing excellent concentration and fine tannins without being at all overblown. Impeccably balanced, immensely enjoyable and distinctly moreish with lots of interest. Approachable now, but with heaps of potential.
June 2017
Raymond Chan – Raymond Chan Wine Reviews – 19.0/20
Even, dark ruby-red colour with slight purple hues, lighter on the rim. The nose is softly full and voluminous with harmoniously melded aromas of dark-red cherries and berryfruit entwined with a layering of thyme herbs, unfolding nuances of liquorice and spices, and subtle suggestions of dark plums. The aromatics build
in depth, intensity and concentration with aeration. Medium-fill bodied, the palate is well-proportioned with ripe fruit flavours of dark-red and black cherries with thyme herbs interwoven with spices and liquorice. The fruit richness is stylishly restrained, but possesses real depth and concentration, and is supported by fine-grained tannin extraction and balanced structure. The acidity is integrated and lends smooth drive and line, the wine carrying to a firmly bound, lingering finish. This is a rich, ripe, stylishly concentrated Pinot Noir with flavours of black cherries and thyme herbs, liquorice and spices on a fine-structured palate. This will develop over the next 6-8 years. Serve with lamb, beef and venison. Clones 5, 777, 115, Abel and 667, fully destemmed and fermented with inoculated and indigenous yeasts to 13.8% alc., the wine spending approx. 9 days on skins and aged 10 months in 28% new French oak barriques. Mar 2017. [Note: Raymond Chan Wine Reviews www.raymondchanwinereviews.co.nz provides a service by publishing independent, assessment-based, critical reviews. His fee is $33+gst per wine]
Joelle Thomson – Dinksbiz June/July 2017 – 18.5/20
This is an outstanding and age-worthy wine made from Grasshopper Rock’s Earnscleugh vineyard in Alexandra which is devoted to one grape and one wine: Pinot Noir. The vineyard was established in 2003 by a group of Pinot-loving friends and their wines can age for the long haul (10 years plus). The grapes were destemmed and fermented with a mix of yeasts, some wild, then aged for 10 months in oak; 28% new. Red fruit flavours are flattered by smoky notes and earthy overtones.