The Martinborough region is one of New Zealand's best sites for growing that most enigmatic of grapes, Pinot Noir. It's home to several producers who are Pinot experts, including Ata Rangi, Palliser Estate, Te Kairangi and of course Martinborough Estate. Of the wines on show here, only the Riesling was less than very good—in particular, Martinborough really seem to have cracked Pinot Noir, producing tasty, complex, varietally true wines with a little bit of a New Zealand twist to them. Prices are still relatively sane for these wines, too. The pick of the bunch for me was the 1999 Pinot Noir: although the 1998 Reserve Pinot is a bigger, ambitious wine that may well improve in the bottle for some time, the regular cuvée is delicious now and a tad less expensive.

Martinborough Vineyard Riesling 2000
I've yet to be really convinced by a New Zealand Riesling. This example has quite a bland 'boiled sweets' nose, with rather simple, bright fruit flavours on the palate. Let's hope this one metamorphoses into something interesting with a couple of years in the bottle. Good

Martinborough Vineyard Chardonnay 1999
A classy new world Chardonnay. Elegant nose with savoury oak and toasty, bready notes. Rich, complex fruit on the palate. Full and soft, with well integrated but prominent oak. May develop in interesting ways. Very good+

Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir 1997
Cherry colour with a browning rim. Lively, full nose of sweet, soft, herby fruit. The palate shows attractive herby/cherry fruit. Quite complex; refined and full-on. My preference for the 1999 could be because of vintage differences, or because I prefer this wine earlier in its evolution. Very good+

Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir 1999
Deep red/purple colour, with a pungent, medicinal edge to the sweet berry fruit on the nose. The palate is lovely, rich and savoury, with quite firm tannins and good complexity. Very good/excellent

Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir Reserve 1998
This is a much 'bigger', more structured wine than the standard Pinot Noir. The nose is quite intense, with complex meaty, medicinal notes, cherry fruit and toasty oak. The lovely complex palate shows ripe fruit, some tannin and very savoury spicy oak notes. Quite intense. Very good/excellent

Tasted May 2001