It was a New Zealand clean sweep in the best value gold medal–winning Pinot Noirs at the 2011 Decanter World Wine Awards.
Image: Rippon Estate, Wanaka, Central Otago
While Burgundy remains the home of Pinot Noir, value is often hard to find. Yet in New Zealand, despite the current strength of the New Zealand dollar, quality comes at a fraction of the price of a Burgundy.
The average vine in New Zealand is still relatively young in European terms, so the best is hopefully yet to come. In the winery, producers are stil experimenting with the variety including whole bunch fermentation trials to provide more structure yet it seems the style is already pleasing to the Decanter judges.
Central Otago’s Domain Road and Akarua are included in the top five best value for money Pinot Noirs. The deeply coloured Central appearance, black fruit and herbal notes, and the region’s united marketing efforts have put the region in the Pinot limelight. Fellow south island producers Black Estate of Waipara and Villa Maria’s Cellar Selection Marlborough also scored highly to receive a gold medal and a spot in the top five value Pinots.
Written by decanter.com staff
