Receiving 15% whole cluster and aged 15 months in French oak, 33% new, on original lees, the 2007 “Eaton Family Vineyard” Pinot Noir has a medium ruby color. There’s a funky/wild character on the nose over aromas of warm strawberries and raspberries, game, earth, forest floor, loam, truffles and a whiff of dried herbs. Very crisp and tight in the mouth, this medium-full bodied Pinot gives a medium level of silky tannins with great flavor concentration and a long layered finish. Drink it now to 2015+. “Technology has allowed us to make better wine more naturally. We can test now to see if Brett is going to be a problem,” Pyramid Valley’s owner Mike Weersing explained during our tasting in Singapore. “My passion right now is natural winemaking. True wines.” A proponent of biodynamics for his small-but-beautiful “Home” vineyards in a remote corner of North Canterbury, Mike also has an eye for sourcing high quality fruit from some amazing sites around the country including the hillside Eaton Family vineyard in Marlborough and the Calvert vineyard in Central Otago. While his inimitable style polarizes many in New Zealand, from where I’m standing he’s doing a fantastic job at expressing his sites, varieties and vision. It probably doesn’t need to be mentioned but all the wines are fermented using indigenous yeast. Importer: Wine Connections Inc, Denver, CO; tel. (303) 777-0409