2022 Pyramid Valley North Canterbury Pinot Noir

95 POINTS

Sam Kim - Wine Orbit

Combining fruit richness with spicy/savoury nuances, it's immediately inviting on the nose with sweet cherry, cured meat, dried mushroom, clove and toasted almond characters. The palate delivers excellent weight and plump mouthfeel, delightfully framed by fleshy texture and layers of polished tannins. Wonderfully structured and harmonious with a persistent, silky finish.

95 POINTS

Sam Kim - Wine Orbit

Combining fruit richness with spicy/savoury nuances, it's immediately inviting on the nose with sweet cherry, cured meat, dried mushroom, clove and toasted almond characters. The palate delivers excellent weight and plump mouthfeel, delightfully framed by fleshy texture and layers of polished tannins. Wonderfully structured and harmonious with a persistent, silky finish.

93 POINTS

James Suckling

A refined pinot with cranberries and slightly green strawberries with fresh local herbs on the nose, following through to a light to medium body, fine tannins and a savory finish.

92 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2022 North Canterbury Pinot Noir pours quite differently in the glass to the 2021. The 2022 is light and almost translucent, while the 2021 is dense and richly colored. "I'd say berry size was about half, in 2021,” says Steve Smith, MW. On the nose, it is spicy, leading with star anise and fennel, clove and orange peel. 100% destemmed, the wine has all the exoticisms of stems. The handling of the fruit during fermentation is incredibly gentle. The cap is wet daily with juice and plunged only once or twice during the peak of ferment. There’s sour cherry and strawberry top, fresh tobacco leaf and a creamy black tea character laced through the finish. A wine of several parts. Complex, textural, fresh. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

90 POINTS

Rebecca Gibb MW - Vinous

The 2022 Pinot Noir North Canterbury is smoky, savory and supple with unusual celery and white pepper aromas, meeting more conventional red fruit and woodsmoke notes. Well-handled, albeit firm tannins combine with the fresh acidity to create an invigorating conclusion. But it's a little shorter than I'd like. Unfined, unfiltered.