Craggy Range Aroha Pinot Noir Martinborough 2020

98 POINTS

Bob Campbell MW - The Real Review

A few months ago I tasted and enthused about a barrel sample of this wine and am pleased to report that it is as I remembered it. It has lost a bit of puppy fat perhaps but remains a supremely suave and stylish pinot noir with layers of cherry, berry, violet, five-spice, anise, struck-flint and nutty oak flavours. Fruit sweetness, gentle acidity and fine tannins marry into each other to give the wine a seamless backbone. It defines elegance. I look forward to re-tasting it after a few more years in bottle.

97 POINTS

Huon Hooke - The Real Review

Good depth of colour, deep-ish with good purple tints, the bouquet reserved, with darker fruit aromas—dark cherry and plum—plus spicy oak and a very Burgundian five-spice touch. Good intensity and drive, rich at the core, with ample soft fine tannins. About 70% whole-bunch, more than the 2019 Te Muna Road wine, but doesn't really show it. An outstanding pinot noir

95 POINTS

Rebecca Gibb MW - Vinous

The 2020 Pinot Noir Aroha Te Muna Road Vineyard is a serene, mouthcoating style that soothes your palate and could be served to the sound of pan pipes. It conveys a sense of rich, unadulterated fruit and broadens in the mouth before the combination of acidity and drawn-out gravelly tannins pulls the wine together, lending purpose and freshness. Expect strawberry fruit alongside lifted herbal and violet tones (courtesy of a whopping 70% whole bunch – this was a ripe vintage, and winemaker Grounds felt it needed this for moreishness). Wild-fermented in French oak barrels and matured over 14 months before bottling, the oak is well integrated, supporting discreetly rather than standing out. Note that this is the first time Aroha has been made without any Abel clone fruit, because there was rain when it was ripening and Grounds felt it lacked the “excitement” to go in the blend.

94 POINTS

Christina Pickard - Wine Enthusiast

Utterly likable with a perfume you could fall headfirst into, there's succulent purple fruit, blueberry jam and vanilla bean aromas with a soft underbelly of spice. The silky, juicy palate has a stony mineral nuance, underpinned by spicy tannins. Absolutely smashable now, this could also cellar until 2030.