The potentially outstanding 2000 Pinot Noir Lloyd Single Vineyard (it is named after the grower) is produced from 10-year old Abel clones. It sports a lush, Morey-St.-Denis-like nose of sweet cherries, plums, and blackberries. It is medium to full-bodied, and has an immensely appealing satin-textured core of dense fruit. Chewy cherries, plump raspberries, and chocolate vie for the taster's attention in this concentrated wine's character. Projected maturity: now-2007.
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