2019 Mt Difficulty Mansons Farm Bannockburn Pinot Noir, Central Otago

Black plum and cherry with dried thyme, woodsmoke and leather aromas unfolding from the glass. The black- and red-fruited palate has good concentration within a firm scaffold of cocoa-ish tannins and spicy oak which leans towards astringency on the finish. This will need a bit more time for the structure to resolve into the mid-weight fruit as it gains more plushness, but the oak is likely to remain dominant throughout its life. Enjoy over the mid-term with meatier dishes. Drink to 2034.

93 points Stephen Wong MW for The Real Review, April 2025

A pretty nose of raspberries, cherries, dried flowers and vanilla. Cranberries, too. Subtle. Medium body with crisp acidity. Crunchy and succulent with tension and freshness. Vibrant finish.

93 points James Suckling, September 2021

About this wine

Mansons Farm Pinot Noir is one of Mt Difficulty’s four single vineyard wines made from fruit grown estate vineyards along Felton Road in Central Otago’s Bannockburn subregion.

Mansons Farm is perched atop the banks of the Kawarau River and is predominately made up of Gibbston gravels formed from schist broken by glacial forces, covered with a thin cover of silt and sand. It is one of the recent sites in the area, planted in 2000 to Pinot Noir clones 113, 114 and 115.

The 2019 season was one of contrasts and many different phases requiring vigilance in the vineyards ahead of a very cool and prolonged final ripening of fruit well into April. The hand-picked fruit was crushed as a vineyard blend, with one fermenter containing a 25% component of whole bunches. Musts underwent a seven-day cold soak, followed by eight days of active fermentation. During these first two weeks, the ferments were plunged once per day, and the wine then left undisturbed for a further ten days before pressing. After settling overnight, it was racked to French oak barriques for a 15-month maturation and finally bottled unfined and unfiltered.

About this producer

Mt Difficulty is one of Central Otago’s most important and recognisable wine producers, with Pinot Noir their most important variety. This is also the producer behind the popular Roaring Meg wines.