Gorgeous black cherry and spice aromas make up the nose of the dark ruby-colored 2000 Pinot Noir Reserve. Soy sauce-laden roasted dark fruits can be found in this medium-bodied wine's personality. It is broad, velvety-textured, and boisterous yet lacks the harmony of the Cellar Selection bottling. Anticipated maturity: now-2006.
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