The ruby-colored 2000 Pinot Noir Cellar Selection reveals a Santenay-like nose of brambleberries and roasted black raspberries. This well-made offering has lovely dark berry and metal shaving flavors in its light to medium-bodied character. This is a pretty wine, with delicate yet expressive fruit. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.
Pinot Noir is making serious inroads in New Zealand. As I've written before, the future looks bright for this fickle varietal in this country's vineyards. It is already the largest planted red varietal in New Zealand (though most of it is used for making sparkling wine), and from what I've learned, the world's largest owner of Pinot Noir vineyards is Brancott, a Kiwi firm. As newly planted vineyards age (much of what was planted early on was of lesser clones), New Zealand has the potential to become recognized as a world class producer of Pinot.
Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802