2012 Escarpment Pinot Noir Te Rehua, Martinborough

Dense and appealing Pinot Noir with red berry/raspberry, plum, dried herb and mixed spice flavours providing good complexity. The wine has good weight and mouth feel with an almost chewy texture. Clearly very youthful with plenty of potential 06 JUN 2014

95 points Bob Campbell MW therealreview.com

Medium to deep red/purple colour. The aroma emphasises fresh new leather - probably from a combination of oak and stems - with a dark and red cherry background. The wine is full-bodied and emphatic on the palate, with power, intensity and drive, propelled partly by (balanced) acidity, the finish long and lingering with a serious, sapid, tannic dryness which is all in complete harmony with the other constituents. A remarkable wine with a long future in the cellar. A rugged but majestic wine. 28 AUG 2014 Drink 2015–2024

96 points Huon Hooke therealreview.com

This wine was grown on the Barton Vineyard, Huangarua Road, Martinborough from vines 23 years old. A combination of deep alluvial gravels which the Martinborough Terraces are renowned for and a blend of many clones grown in a very sheltered spot always rewards us with a classic example of New World Pinot Noir.

It was open topped fermented using indigenous yeasts in traditional wooded cuvees, hand plunged every 12 hours, with a total vat time of 24 days. After pressing it was matured in 30% new French oak barriques for 18 months. It was ned using a minimum of egg white to protect the avours and aid brightness in the glass without ltering, promoting soft mouth feel and texture.