Anyone who has been to one of my Pinot Noir tastings will know that I have a soft spot for Marlborough Pinot Noir and day three was all about Marlborough for me. I must admit to being a little nervous, Centrals consistent quality on day one was a strong first act, the pioneers on day two were inspirational, so how would Marlborough hold up on day three?
We started with a presentation on the region and as expected it was a little more formal in approach, however I loved the summation of how you could define Marlborough Pinot;
– The ability to present the red fruit spectrum of Pinot Noir
– An acid thread through the wines that hold the wines in a good position to age
– Over deliver at many price points (maybe not all price points – I’d yet to taste at this stage)
– Consistency year in and year out
Overall I was very impressed with the quality of the wines, in fact I enjoyed the tasting so much I was the last to leave the room. If your impressions to date are that Marlborough wines are simple, straight forward and lack the interest of other regions – you need to get out and try Marlborough Pinot again – there was some seriously brilliant wines in the room.
So consistent with my posts from day 1 and 2 my top wines today were;
Antsfield Road Ridge Pinot Noir 2010
Clos Marguerite Pinot Noir 2010
Terravin Eaton Family Pinot Noir 2010
Series in Rachel Pinot Noir 2010
Nautilus 4 Barriques Pinot Noir 2010
Saint Clair Block 22 Pinot Noir 2010
Greywacke Pinot Noir 2010