Pinot Noir
75cl * Vegan * Organic * Biodynamic * 14.5% ABV * Central Otago, New Zealand
We are incredibly lucky to have a small allocation of 2022 MacMuir Pinot Noir from legendary New Zealand estate Felton Road. The team has released its first new single vineyard wine for 15 years and MacMuir Pinot Noir may be their last, as their zero-growth policy means there will be no new vineyards added in the future.
Situated slap-bang in the "vinous sweet spot" of Bannockburn in the world’s most southerly winemaking region, Felton Road’s story began with meticulous site selection and vineyard design by Stewart Elms in 1991. Nigel Greening, a self-described Pinot Noir addict from Devon, who had previously sold his British film production company to plant the Cornish Point Vineyard in Bannockburn, bought Felton Road in 2000. Nigel kept the team in place, including Blair Walter who has made every one of Felton Road’s wines from their very first vintage in 1997. Together with viticulturalist Gareth King, the team promptly embarked on full estate conversion to organic (2002) and then to biodynamic farming, gaining a Demeter certification for all its vineyards in 2010.
To preserve the wine's expression of its terroir, the entire estate comes as close to true sustainability as is possible, working with nature using organic treatments, manure and plant cover crops to ensure natural bio-diversity in the vineyards. Low yields are achieved through hand pruning and all picking takes place by hand. In the cellars Burgundian barrels are used for the oak-aged wines and bottling takes place without fining or filtration. A gentle, minimal intervention approach to winemaking is assisted by a three-level gravity-flow winery alongside wild yeast and natural malolactic fermentation.
But to the wine itself: the nose is dark, as is the colour, and it's beguiling, but restrained. There is a stature to the palate here; a sort of authority to the way it stands back and allows you to explore its detail. A definite sprig of herbs and chocolate notes. It seems extraordinary that this is just the second time MacMuir has been made as a single vineyard release: it’s Felton Road, to be sure, but in a different dimension.
Drinking Window: 2023 - 2027
"Intense wine that is on the dark side with concentrated flavours that suggest black fruits, cacao powder, liquorice and anise supported by sweet, chewy tannins A wine of substance and of promise. Time will add new layers to an already tantalisingly complex wine." 97 Points, Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review
* Discounts will not be applied as irreplaceable stock *