2022 Escarpment Kupe Pinot Noir Magnum 1.5L, Martinborough

Medium-deep red with the merest tint of purple, the bouquet is shy and retiring, with hints of charred oak and stemmy whole-bunchiness. A solid, powerful pinot that has lots of muscle, tannin structure and concentration, ending in a long and firmly tannic aftertaste. Impressive pinot which needs time and could go for many years. Drink to 2037.

95 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, September 2024

Intense, elegant pinot noir with typical savoury character that defines it as Martinborough. Firmly-structured wine with a promising future and a depth of fruit that marks it as a thoroughbred. Drink to 2032.

95 points Bob Campbell for The Real Review, March 2024

The 2022 Kupe Pinot Noir is mouthfilling and complex, with gravitas and weight without being heavy. The splay of tannin in the mouth starts right at the very front and fans out through the long finish. It is the most harmonious and intense of the four single-vineyard wines tasted here today, and while I am seriously attracted to the levity and intrigue of the Kiwa, this Kupe is wonderful for different reasons. There's density, muscle, slow/patient repose and complex nuance in the mouth. It's a great, distinct wine. Drink to 2037.

94+ points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, December 2023

Very pretty aromas with strawberry and peach character as well as fresh rose petals and lavender. Medium-bodied with fine and crunchy tannins and a creamy textured finish. Balanced for the vintage. Drink now or hold.

93 points James Suckling, March 2024

Powerful perfume of dried mushroom, dark cherry, undergrowth, dark chocolate and charcuterie. The palate similarly set with stripes of graphite-laced, powdery tannin. A lot of density and dryness, also a touch of bitterness. Does its powerful, savoury thing pretty well.

92 points Mike Bennie for Halliday Wine Companion, March 2026

Kupe is made from Escarpment’s home vineyard on Te Muna Road which was first planted in 1999. From the cooler than average 2022 season, this wine is 100% Abel clone from the original close-planted blocks. Fruit was destemmed to an open top fermenter with a 40% inclusion of whole bunches. Fermented using indigenous yeast, and hand plunged once a day for soft extraction, the wine was pressed after 30 days and matured for twenty months in French oak barriques of which 42% were new. The blended parcels were bottled without fining or filtration.

About this producer

Escarpment has been creating an expression of Martinborough through Burgundian grape varieties for 35 years. The 24-hectare home vineyard on the regions deep alluvial loams is located minutes from the village, and is the primary source of fruit, supplemented by the produce of select neighbours. The vineyard work is supervised by Rowan Hoskins, while winemaker Tim Bourne has been guiding things back at the winery following Larry McKenna’s retirement after the 2022 harvest.