2022 Rippon Tinker's Field Mature Vine Pinot Noir, Central Otago

The 2022 Tinker's Field Mature Vine Pinot Noir is so savory and mineral this vintage. The 2021 was eminently lithe and supple, but this is statuesque and serious, with sandalwood, aniseed, mountain flowers, amaro-esque herbs and something pure, powerful and bracing, like a briskly cold martini. This has curve and shape and a steely line that will bode well for its long future. For now, I'd likely drink the 2021 in its stead, while this comes of age. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under Diam.

The philosophy behind blending the Pinot Noirs at Rippon is an important thing to conceptualize, as it positions the wines within the estate's portfolio. Emma's Block, Tinker's Field and Rippon Pinot Noirs are expressions of place in the estate in Wanaka. I tasted from barrels with Winemaker Nick Mills, and we looked at several barrels of each of the Emma's Block and the Tinker's Field. The following day, the wines were due to be racked from barrel into two tanks, each apportioned to their vineyard sites. Then, an amount, say eight barrels of each, will be filled, and the rest will be consigned to a tank for the Rippon Mature Vine Pinots—a blend of the two vineyards, plus the old vines located on the other vineyard sites on the property—and it spends a second winter in neutral oak. It is not an entry-level offering, as may be the case at other estates, rather the Rippon Pinot offers an estate view of the two locations, which encompasses the old-vine fruit from all the parts of the Rippon vineyard, showing the farm voice and a reflection of the property. All the Pinots made at Rippon are afforded the same treatment, which includes whole-cluster fruit, time on skins and plant material; it's all the same pedigree, and there's no declassification or declassified portions, etc. The single-vineyard wines have to clearly reflect the whole section in order to be bottled as such.

96 points robertparker.com

Rippon Tinkers Field Mature Vine Pinot Noir from Central Otago is one of New Zealand’s most profound and expressive wines, capturing the essence of its breathtaking landscape on the shores of Lake Wanaka. Rippon is a family estate with deep roots in the region, established by Rolfe and Lois Mills, true pioneers of Central Otago viticulture. Today their son Nick Mills continues their legacy, farming biodynamically and crafting wines that express purity, texture and a real sense of place. Tinkers Field is the heart of the Rippon property, a vineyard of mature vines that sit on ancient schist and glacial moraine soils. These rocky slopes, framed by alpine air and Lake Wanaka’s cool reflection, produce fruit of extraordinary clarity and natural balance.