Mountford Estate, The Gradient Pinot Noir, North Canterbury

2021 Martinborough weekend with Kai, Marion and friends (Wairarapa, NZ) : Served double blind with the Schubert. A peaty nose of wet straw, dried herbs and black cherries, with a dash of black pepper. It paired well with Kai’s venison dish. The wine was apparently 100% whole cluster and 200% new oak. The stems were apparent but the fruit, and time, had swallowed almost all of the oak. Showing well, agreeably developed and mellowed. Once revealed, not a wine I …

popped and started tasting over the next 3 hours. Color is a medium garnet, about 50% opaque and slow, thin legs. Damp forest, black tea, capsicum, and roses in the modest aroma. The years may have taken some fruit but what is left is a very nice, mature, Burgundish palate with silky texture and perfectly integrated acidity and tannins. I think the last few tasting notes caught this going through transition, but this is now a very good mature PN …

Time has not improved this wine. Seems to have lost fruit and is a bit hollow without much complexity.

Seems like this wine isn't developing much nuances and instead remaining rather primary. Dark bricking garnet colour, some good sour cherry, sweet ripe fruit and smooth texture. But otherwise the palette is a bit thin and watery. Its rather non-descirpt despite the dark hue with none of the minerality or complexity from before. Plus the lack of acidity which makes the finish rather flabby. Not hopeful that this will develop into a gorgeous pinot, despite earlier samples (and marketing) had …

Pop and poured and was mostly ready to go. Cherry cola on the nose. Better than the last bottle, but while good it isn't as good as my first note from last year indicate. I surmise that my taste has changed as it wasn't my favourite flavour profile for a pinot (fruit was a little on the new worldy side) ... but it is elegant, pure, and concentrated with a long fruity finish.

Thin upon opening but got better with air. Decent weight but quite simple with some sour cherry cola on the finish. None of the concentration or power I experienced before, despite the same dark hue. A very different bottle from what I've experienced before ... this bottle is an decent but quite average pinot. 86 Day 2 - Got a little better with more earthiness and complexity coming through, but still not what I was expecting. 88

Big and brawny pinot, but not overly fruity. Lots of stuff in there but very tight even after 4 hours ... will check in on it tomorrow. Day 2 - Similar to my last bottle now, nose is rather muted but palette is balanced and expressive. Similar profile of rich fruit with hints of earth. Perhaps a little less complex and flat though? Will revisit in a few years. Day 3 - Still going strong. Delicious. It traded some of …

Day 2 - Vacuum pumped and refridgerated. Yesterday I had marked this as a little corked, yet somehow on the second day I can't detect any TCA anymore ... did I misdiagnose? In any case this is quite a pinot ... explosion of dark dense silky cherry balanced by some but not overtly earthy undertones. Long finish. Lovely.