Cloudy Bay Te Wahi Pinot Noir 2018

Cloudy Bay Te Wahi Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand, 2018    

Grape: Pinot Noir, hand picked from selected vineyards

Defining a new Pinot Noir place. Cloudy Bay’s evocative distillation of the most extreme southerly and continental Pinot Noir terroir of Central Otago.

Producer Tasting Note:

The 2018 Te Wahi Central Otago Pinot Noir is dark and intense. On the nose, you’ll find dusky brambles, wild strawberries and hints of violet. The palate is elegant and abounds with damson and hedgerow fruit. Dense tannins and vibrant freshness bring tension, balance and clarity, drawing to a long and focused finish.

Fruit from two complementary Central Otago vineyards is mostly de-stemmed into open-top fermentation tanks, with some whole bunch fermentation. In spring, the wine goes through extended maceration and spontaneous malolactic fermentation. The wine then spends a year or more ageing in French oak barrels before bottling. Te Wahi comes from two contrasting vineyards. Northburn sits on Lake Dunstan’s steep east bank, where unforgiving, rocky, glacial soils produce fruit with structure and intensity. Calvert, on Felton Road in Bannockburn, sits in the silty, loamy soils of an ancient lake bed and produces opulent, fragrant fruit.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Prominent red fruit – cranberry, cooked rhubarb. Juicy and generous, very well sculpted. Fresh and with a touch of bitterness to finish. Super-fine tannins. It's crowd-pleasing Pinot, and there's nothing wrong with that."

16.5/20 points, Richard Hemming MW, JANCISROBINSON.COM, November 2022

"Intense, complex, nose with lots of oak influence. There are aromas of raspberry conserve, rosehip, thyme and oregano but mainly spicy cedar, hazelnut, bacon fat and chary, smoky oak. Again, it's very complex on the palate, long and linear with coffee and cream flavours and svelte tannins. Very much a new world style but with the structure to age comfortably."

93/100 points, New Zealand Wine Rater, August 2022

Food Pairing:

Te Wahi’s complex, sophisticated and powerful flavours make it a perfect match for game meats and roasted vegetables. It’s a perfect addition to any winter banquet - try it with slow-roasted lamb shoulder and grilled root vegetables, or beef wellington and parsnip purée.