Greywacke Pinot Noir 2020

This is a deliciously spicy and complex pinot with aromas of spiced cherries, tea leaves, cedar, grilled herbs, smoke and potpourri. Rich in both flavor and texture, with plush tannins and a medium body. Long and spicy.

Pure and fresh, with strawberry-rhubarb compote, raspberry and red licorice notes that show touches of caramel and malty Assam black tea on the long finish, backed by plush tannins. Drink now. 

Everyone has their personal memory bank of aromas, and when I tasted this I was taken back to a childhood visit to the Jorvik Viking Centre in York. After queuing outside for what seemed like an eternity, we boarded small carts on rails and were transported around the center, learning about life in Viking York. I remember the scary mannequins and the smell of smoked meats and log fires, and here they are in the glass (minus the mannequins). Once those savory characters yield, there is fruitcake, cinnamon spice, thyme and fennel. The tannins are rich and resolved, coating the mouth with a fine texture akin to licking a pebble while the acidity builds, providing satisfying refreshment. Rich, savory and fragrant on the finish. In a challenging vintage, this is a true success. Ready to drink, but with its substance and structure, it will evolve gracefully. Drinking window: 2021 - 2026

Fragrant and flavoursome pinot noir with plum, raspberry, wood smoke, cedar and subtle floral flavours. A medium-bodied wine, with a backbone of fine tannins that perfectly balance fruit sweetness. Accessible now but with cellaring potential. (3/2020)

Kevin Judd's 2017 Pinot Noir shows a hint of green bean on the nose, perhaps a hint of stemminess, alongside ripe red and black cherries. It's medium-bodied and softly dusty in texture, with those soft tannins lingering on the finish.

From several different plots, all of different Pinot clones, the fruit was kept separate and partially whole-bunch fermented with wild yeast, then aged separately in medium-toast French oak, 40% new, for 18 months. It was then blended, fined and bottled. It has a lovely bright cherry nose, followed on the palate by some tarry oak, dark chocolate and fresh red fruits. The oak is dominant at the moment, with a fuller, richer, woodier character than the 2012, but it should settle down to reveal the purity of the fruit beneath.

Making top-flight Marlborough Pinot Noir wasn't easy in 2014, so this is an especially notable effort from Kevin Judd. Classic savory, forest-floor notes frame black-tea and plum flavors in this concentrated, richly textured wine. Drink now–2022. Edit's Choice