Cloudy Bay Te Wahi Pinot Noir 2019

While best known for their iconic Sauvignon Blanc, Cloudy Bay have long championed Marlborough Pinot Noir and are just so damn consistent. This is a much more restrained & elegant style than many other NZ producers, while still retaining all the power and drive associated with Burgundy. 

Te Wāhi means ‘the place’ in te reo Māori, reflecting both the importance of terroir and the sense of finding our second home. It is a powerful wine with an opulent core of dark berry fruit and structured tannins. Over time, warm spices and notes of forest floor flourish and provide complexity. Te Wāhi comes from two contrasting vineyards. Northburn sits on Lake Dunstan’s steep east bank, where unforgiving, rocky, glacial soils produce fruit with structure and intensity. Calvert, on Felton Road in Bannockburn, sits in the silty, loamy soils of an ancient lake bed and produces opulent, fragrant fruit.

The 2019 Te Wāhi Pinot Noir is dark and concentrated, with notes of boysenberry, florals and subtle spice on the nose. The palate is dense, with rich plum and hedgerow berry fruit balanced by a juicy freshness that interplays with the fine tannins to create a balanced and elegant impression. The finish is long, with moreish notes of dark chocolate and blackcurrant.