Score: 88/100
Spy Valley winery is a rather famous and popular Kiwi wine producer based in the Waihopai Valley of Marlborough.
The grapes for this Pinot Noir wine were sourced from the Johnson Vineyard, Outpost, and Grapeview vineyards in the Southern Valleys area of the famous Marlborough region, New Zealand.
They were hand-picked before being fermented in open vats, the traditional containers for fermenting Pinot Noir. Fermentation was let to start with ‘wild’ yeasts (no inoculation with selected yeasts). The wine was aged in oak barrels for 11 months.
More perspective on this wine with the review of its 2013 vintage at 2013 Spy Valley Pinot Noir, Marlborough
Technical Facts
Harvest Dates 11-25 March 2014
Alcohol 13.5 % v/v
pH 3.77
TA 5.2g/L
Residual Sugar 1.0 g/L
Tasting Notes
This NZ Pinot Noir comes in a bright red color, quite intense and dark for a cool-climate Pinot Noir, though it is not super-dense looking either. A solid appearance!
The nose is however, extremely fragrant, very very fruity, dominated by some sort of fresh strawberry jam aromas. It feels slightly jammy, in the sense that it’s ripe, but also very much like fresh berries.
One can sense though some oak has been carefully applied here to lift up the fruitiness with vanilla, almost coconut-like. It’s also brought some spicy and lifting depth with clear clove, nutmeg, and other sweet spices.
Black olive (tapenade), and nearly truffle, are there too.
A very pleasing and appealing nose, rather complex despite the upfront fruitiness, as you may have found out from all the descriptors I’ve used!
From there (this, I’ve said already, pleasing nose), the mouthfeel dispoints a little as it’s not as full and richly-flavored as you’re brought to expect at smelling the wine.
But it is flavorsome and pungently fruity as well. The body is medium and tannins a little drying, with some bitterness to the finish.
Overall
A very pleasing Pinot Noir packed-full with pungent fresh red berries and vanilla aromas and flavors that will definitely please palates in search of an upfront and very well-executed New Zealand Pinot.
Sweetly spiced, ripe and exuberant, it satisfies by its fruity approachability combined with subtle savory tones we love in Pinot Noir: truffle, sour cherry, olive.
Enjoy 🙂
Please let me know your thoughts