Misha’s Vineyard overlooking Lake Dunstan in Bendigo, Central Otago
There was a time when you could easily pick a Central Otago Pinot Noir out of a blind line up. The bold, muscular and ripe wine would always be the ticket, its intensity and power reflecting the stark beauty of the landscape.
How things change. With less extraction, less oak and earlier harvests, the wines have seen a reset that allows fruit and provenance to shine – while revealing the sometimes subtle, sometimes marked differences between Central Otago’s distinct subregions.
With just 2,054ha of vines, Central Otago on New Zealand’s South Island represents just 4.9% of the country’s vineyards, according to the New Zealand Wine Vineyard Report 2023. But it is home to 29.2% of the country’s Pinot Noir plantings.
This means that Pinot Noir takes up just over 80% of Central Otago’s vineyards, set against snow-capped peaks and glacial lakes.
Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for 20 Central Otago…
Source : https://www.decanter.com/premium/exploring-the-terroir-and-stylistic-evolution-of-central-otago-pinot-noir-535120/
