2004 Dry River Martinborough Pinot Noir

13.0% alc., $70, numbered bottles, cork closure. McCallum reported that in 2004 only a few frosts were met with (helicopter protection was used only three times) and there was no damage to the flowers. The growing season was wet but conditions were consistently warm producing solid cropping levels and boosting phenolic ripeness. A more forward wine than the expected to be long-lived 2003 vintage. · A darkly colored wine with a heady nose of black cherries and plums with a smoky oak accent. Fig, prune, black cherry and plum flavors on the doorstep of overripeness but never crossing the threshold. The complexity is astonishing with exotic spices and a number of flavors I have never encountered with Pinot Noir. An epiphanic wine that was the best Pinot Noir I tasted among all the wines from New Zealand reviewed in this issue. Reviewed October 13, 2008

Winery: Dry River
From article: Dry River: Martinborough’s Cult Wine