2022 Swiftsure Bannockburn Pinot Noir, Central Otago

Aromatic pinot noir with floral/red rose/violet, cherry, red-fleshed plum, wild thyme and raspberry flavours. Purity and restrained power with an impressively lengthy finish. Deliciously accessible wine with obvious cellaring potential. Drink to 2033.

95 points Bob Campbell for The Real Review, August 2023

Distinctive, complex and enticing bouquet of ripe dark-skinned cherry and baked raspberry, there’s a classic savoury cool climate scents, layers of barrel spice wood smoke and wild thyme.

95 points Cam Douglas

The very ageworthy, debut 2022 vintage (5*) is a single-vineyard, estate-grown red, matured in French oak puncheons (18 per cent new). Ruby hued, it is mouthfilling and smooth, with concentrated, ripe, cherryish, nutty flavours. Complex and savoury, with balanced acidity and good tannin backbone, it's well worth cellaring to 2026.

Five Stars Michael Cooper

Dark, youthful and bright in the glass. Deep and heady aromas of dried herbs, spice, blueberry, dark cherry, earth, charry oak and a woodsy earthiness. Blue fruited, fleshy, plush and powerful in flavour. A big flavoured, textured and chunky style of pinot that’s sure to please.

93 points Aaron Brasher for The Real Review, October 2024

This is riper with dark cherries and red plums as well as hints of cocoa and light spices. Medium-bodied, compact and mouth-filling with fine, silky tannins. Layered and taut, yet fresh and vivid with a flavorful finish. Drink now.

91 points Andrii Stetsiuk for James Suckling, January 2024

Swiftsure is an extension of the Spencer family’s Waiheke Island based Man O’War with fruit sourced from Marlborough and Central Otago. Fruit is estate grown, with 75 hectares of vineyards across Marlborough’s South Coast and Awatere Valley subregions, and a smaller 5-hectare site in the Bannockburn subregion of Central Otago. The winemaking decisions are guided by Man O’War’s Duncan McTavish.