Wild Earth Pinot Noir 2015
Guess I needn’t say too much about this one.
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I guess if I was going to say something, I’d say that no stone was left unturned, no tick left unchecked and no hair left out of place in the making of this wine.
From a ripping Bannockburn single site in Central Otago, it just has everything: elegance, grace, poise, power. Fruit and flesh, brightness and depth. I usually find Central pinot a bit too charry, too much of everything. But this has it all in check, composed and confident. Mmmmm, get in me.
But that’s if I was going to say something.
Which I won’t. Words would be wasted.
Reviews
Sam Kim
“Beautifully styled and composed, the immensely attractive bouquet shows red/black cherry, roasted hazelnut, game and floral characters. The palate is elegant and stylish with excellent mid palate weight and silky texture, leading to an impressively long, fine finish. At its best: now to 2022.”
It’s cool, we get it, you want to know absolutely everything about this wine. Well here you go, go nuts.
Specs
- Region
- Central Otago
- Vintage
- 2015
- Cellaring
- 2022
- Preservatives
- Sulphites
- Alcohol by Vol.
- 14.3%
- Closure
- Screwcap
- Bottle Vol
- 750mL
- Blend Info
- 100% Pinot Noir
- Serving Temp.
- 15.0°C
Winemaking
Crafting
This wine is a single vineyard Pinot Noir from a highly awarded site in Bannockburn. The fruit was hand harvested at optimal ripeness with harvest dates ranging from from early to mid-April 2015. Six ferments went into the blend ranging from 0-30% whole bunches per fermenter with the resulting blend having around 20% whole clusters with a total time on skins ranging from 3 to 4 weeks which aids the tannin structure and aromatics of the wine. The wine was aged in fine grain French oak: 25% new oak, 40% one-year oak and 35% in 2-5 year-old French oak barriques for approximately 12 months. The winemaking intention was for transparency in order to showcase the great personality of this Bannockburn site in a vintage that is truly elegant and graceful.
Region
Central Otago
Central Otago is the New Zealand's highest and the world's most southerly wine region at latitude 45°S. It has cold winters, hot summers, cool nights and low rainfall, and is ideally suited to Pinot Noir, which covers 80% of plantings. The rest is mainly planted to Chardonnay, with smatterings of Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Gris. Expect character and intensity as the hallmarks of this marginal region.
The rules are there ain’t no rules, but here are some foods we think will work pretty well with this wine...
Goes with
Duck and shiitake risotto
Ingredients
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 150g fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 350g arborio rice
- 1.2L chicken stock
- 1/4 cup (60ml) Chinese rice wine (shaohsing)
- 2 tbs kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 Chinese barbecued duck, meat roughly chopped
- 1 bunch steamed baby bok choy
Directions
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- Heat oil in a large, deep frypan over medium heat and cook onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes until softened.
- Add shiitakes and rice, and stir for a further minute.
- Add stock and wine, bring to the boil, then transfer to a large greased baking dish.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Stir in kecap manis, sesame oil and duck, cover and rest for 5 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
- Roughly chop bok choy, stir in and serve.
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