Pisa Range 2003 Pinot Noir Black Poplar (Central Otago) Dark beet and blood orange. Still powerfully youthful, and in fact it might be hardening a bit. I keep reading Kiwi wine cognoscenti suggesting that many of the early-00s pinots are on the downslope. So Ive opened a handful. So far, the only conclusion I can reach is that theyre out of their minds. If anything, these wines havent even hit their midlife crisis yet. (5/10)
Mt. Difficulty Roaring Meg 2008 Pinot Noir (Central Otago) Second-label and cheaper Otago pinots are either surprisingly good or flawed in a regionally-representative way: too much weight and alcohol. Here, while there is some alcohol on display, its not because the wine is too weighty. On the contrary, its wan, tired, and uninteresting. It reminds me of one of those Eastern European pinots that used to show up in educational blind tastings a few decades ago, just to wrench the works (betcha cant guess that this is from Bulgaria, tee hee) in that I while I understand how it got made, I dont understand how it got purchased, shipped to foreign markets, and given valuable shelf space. (5/10)
Black Ridge 2003 Pinot Noir (Central Otago) Sweet red beet and blood orange concentrate. Stemmy. Walnut skins and dirt suffused with ash. The sensation of excess acidity this wine had in its youth is only a memory at this point. Pretty good certainly better than it was at release but I dont know if Id hold this any longer. (6/10)
Fromm La Strada 2001 Pinot Noir Clayvin (Marlborough) A recent closeout, and dying. There are plenty of signs of heat damage somewhere along the line. Alas, this showed up in a local closeout bin and I was intrigued. But Id avoid the lot based on the performance of this bottle, which should have been in the early stages of blossoming from its closed youth. (7/10)
Donaldson Family Pegasus Bay 2002 Riesling (Waipara) Creamed dust and papaya. But otherwise flat, dull-fruited, and short. Something went wrong here, and since other bottles from the same source have been fine, Im going to blame the cork. (5/10)
Donaldson Family Main Divide 2005 Riesling (South Island) Makrut lime, icy-bright sweetness, ripe apple zing. Fresh and zippy. (7/10)
Mt. Difficulty Roaring Meg 2008 Pinot Noir (Central Otago) Second-label and cheaper Otago pinots are either surprisingly good or flawed in a regionally-representative way: too much weight and alcohol. Here, while there is some alcohol on display, its not because the wine is too weighty. On the contrary, its wan, tired, and uninteresting. It reminds me of one of those Eastern European pinots that used to show up in educational blind tastings a few decades ago, just to wrench the works (betcha cant guess that this is from Bulgaria, tee hee) in that I while I understand how it got made, I dont understand how it got purchased, shipped to foreign markets, and given valuable shelf space. (5/10)
Black Ridge 2003 Pinot Noir (Central Otago) Sweet red beet and blood orange concentrate. Stemmy. Walnut skins and dirt suffused with ash. The sensation of excess acidity this wine had in its youth is only a memory at this point. Pretty good certainly better than it was at release but I dont know if Id hold this any longer. (6/10)
Fromm La Strada 2001 Pinot Noir Clayvin (Marlborough) A recent closeout, and dying. There are plenty of signs of heat damage somewhere along the line. Alas, this showed up in a local closeout bin and I was intrigued. But Id avoid the lot based on the performance of this bottle, which should have been in the early stages of blossoming from its closed youth. (7/10)
Donaldson Family Pegasus Bay 2002 Riesling (Waipara) Creamed dust and papaya. But otherwise flat, dull-fruited, and short. Something went wrong here, and since other bottles from the same source have been fine, Im going to blame the cork. (5/10)
Donaldson Family Main Divide 2005 Riesling (South Island) Makrut lime, icy-bright sweetness, ripe apple zing. Fresh and zippy. (7/10)