Here we go, day one from Pinot Noir 2013. What a great start to the event, a fantastic day of people and wine. After the formal welcome, our first key note speaker was Matt Kramer with a thought provoking speech entitled – ‘Can Atheists Create Great Pinot Noir?’ Sam Neill then lightened the mood with a massive dose of humour, clarifying for everyone the correct use of the term ‘bastard’ and what a good group of bastards New Zealand Pinot Noir producers are. The format for this years event differs from 2010 and I like it. Broken into smaller groups we are being given a daily dose of regional focus. First up for me was Central Otago. It is said that you can see the personality and life of a region in its wines and if that’s true, then Central Otago wines should be quirky, forward, fruity, not short of an opinion and full of colour. The overall quality of the Central Otago wines was outstanding and they do portray all the before mentioned characters. My highlights;
Mount Edward Stevens Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010
Rockburn Pinot Noir 2010
Quartz Reef Pinot Noir 2010
Chard Farm Pinot Noir 2010
Peregrine Pinot Noir 2010
From the afternoon session, where we looked at old vines/young wines and young vines /old wines;
Quartz Reef Pinot Noir 2001- from magnum
Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir 2001
Loved day one and looking forward to day two.