Frontline Wine: Pricey Pinot Found Very Weighty

I got to taste the Peregrine Pinnacle Pinot Noir 2005 ( $150 cellar door )at the weekend. Yes…It can be a dirty job at times. In a wine producing region where the Pinot Noir vines are still in their infancy in comparison to other parts of New Zealand, never mind other parts of the world, it would be interesting to see what Central Otago had to offer at the very pinnacle of the price range as it were.

In fact, it threw up more questions than it answered about the progression of the current darling region of the New Zealand wine industry. I was intrigued to find out what stroke of ingenuity in the cellar had merited such a high price-tag.

Without question, Burgundy is producing the finest Pinot Noir in the world. Nowhere in the world is the expression of ‘terroir’ so varied. Hundreds of years of tradition and skills handed down and fine-tuned to perfection generation after generation, produce expressions of Pinot Noir that cover the entire spectrum. They command the highest prices at auction and the very best can age for decades. For those fortunate enough to have tasted a great Burgundy Pinot at its peak, it is a memorable experience which has them comparing every other Pinot they taste thereafter against it. These great expressions of Pinot Noir are powerful, perfumed, balanced to perfection and above all else, elegant.

The Peregrine Pinnacle Pinot Noir 2005 is anything but elegant. It is powerful and intense. The savoury, fungal nose instantly draws you in with big, deep perfumed whiffs that are instantly recognisable as Central Otago Pinot. If the palate emulated the complexity of the nose, I would have to be impressed. It doesn’t. The body is full, firm and closed with inky New World fruit, finishing with a hot, over-cooked finish. It is a big, bold and weighty style that is enjoyably sippable, but doesn’t display the perfumed elegance I would have expected from a wine of this price. It behaves like a Cabernet Sauvignon; all power and grunt, yet lacking the soft underbelly that characterises the great Pinot Noirs.

The trend in Central Otago is for big, powerful Pinots, and it is this style that separates them from every other Pinot Noir producing region in the world. But at what point is the line drawn?

If the region is to be taken seriously by the traditionalists, at what point will the wineries decide that their Pinot is becoming too heavy? Think DRC’s La Tache, or Chateau Margaux in Bordeaux. If the great wines from each region are an indicator of the quality beneath them, then I fear that one day, the Pinot Noir from Central Otago will be measured by big, inky powerhouses that may impress the Yanks, but will stunt the region and its development on the international stage.

Also tasted:

Leoville Barton 2004 2eme Cru St Julien

A classic claret nose of cassis and cedar wood leads to a full, dry and firm palate that is tannic, dry and incredibly rich. Still closed and youthful, but it will be a treat to crack open in 15-30 years. I expected big things and the wine didn’t fail to impress.

Te Kairanga Pinot Noir 1998 Martinborough

(I know…I know…party in my house this week!) It begins with a concentrated, fleshy, floral nose with a whiff of alcohol, but is still youthful on the palate with some nice, firm flavoursome tannins. It is wonderfully intense, but the fruit character is restrained and balanced, finishing with a savoury dry and lingering length. This old dear is holding up better than I am, and is beautifully expressive example of the region.

Feedback to paulbrannigan03 @ hotmail.com

© Scoop Media