This was the standout vintage of a recent 10-year vertical tasting of Pinot Noirs from Craggy Range’s Te Muna Road vineyard in Martinborough. It’s not a rich, dense, flashy Pinot, but rather one of refinement and precision. The vines were getting to the stage when they were really beginning to express the vineyard, and not just fruit, in 2011 (the vineyard was first planted in 1999). I think this will age. I tried it again over the last two nights, and I’ve just bagged a six-pack from Majestic Wine, where it’s currently priced very reasonably at £18 a bottle.

Craggy Range Te Muna Road Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011 Martinborough, New Zealand
13.5% alcohol. Supple, elegant and pure with fine red cherry fruit and subtle sappy green notes in the background. Fresh, fragrant and expressive with nicely poised red fruits on the palate underpinned by fine spiciness. Really well balanced and has potential for development. 94/100 (rrp £22.50 Majestic, Forth Wines, Soho Wine Supply)

Find this wine with wine-searcher.com