Wairau Cove Pinot Noir

Nose of powdered black tea and forest floor. Strong palate: medium-bodied, with firm tannin and focused acidity. Bright flavours of cranberry and rhubarb, backed by dark, earthy notes of black tea, resin, and forest floor. Good balance of bright fruit and earthy astringency.

No mistaking this as anything other than a Marlborough pinot. The nose is very high toned with red plum, bitter cherry, orange rind and fungal underbrush. The palate is fairly slight but the flavors are deep enough. There's slightly sour cherry, cherry pit, huckleberry, orange rind, dandelion green and a bit of rose. A nice, easy drinking pinot that is very food friendly with its bright acidity and slightly grippy texture.

Tasted at the Whitewater Valley Wine Society, Hampshire, UK. This single vineyard wine had a complex nose of dark fruits, leather and spice, with hints of dark chocolate. The palate was well balanced, the tannins rich with traces of great oak spice and a long and highly complex finish; probably, the best value wine of the evening!

This is remarkably pale, almost saignée - a worrying sign! Nose is spicy, alcoholic and lacking in fruit. Palate is more correct, but there is a medicinal edge here which I find off-putting. It feels like they deliberately under-extracted this wine to keep it 'easy-drinking'. Not great.

Ripe cherries and toastiness on the nose. Soft, with a bit of rose and some berry on the palate.