2019 Amisfield RKV Reserve Pinot Noir, Central Otago

A plush and very expressive nose with notes of development unfurl from the glass; floral, mushroom and mocha adorning the core of blackberry and dark cherry fruit. With air, this rapidly evolves to porcini, earth and cocoa, showing a more developed aromatic profile. The palate is immense and full yet also densely compact with nicely submerged tannins which have started melding into the wine. A powerhouse style with a lot of concentration and intensity. There is a sweet lingering note of fruit and flower on the finishl this is just softening into drinkability now though it will keep gaining complexity and smoothness for many more years. Drink 2025–2034.

95 points Stephen Wong for The Real Review, January 2025

Vibrant aromas of strawberries, violets, cedar, potpourri and pencil shavings. The palate is medium-bodied with seamlessly integrated tannins and bright acidity, giving flavors of dark cherries, dried herbs and wet river stones. Restrained and delicate with an underlying power that will unravel nicely with time in bottle. Drink or hold.

94 points James Suckling, February 2025

Bottle age has created a mellow, mature 2019 Pinot Noir Reserve RKV with rounded shoulders and smooth tannins. The 2019 is at a lovely stage in its evolution: plum and cherry fruit remain alongside oak-derived, heady spices. It has also developed savory notes of tea leaves and tobacco. This finishes with medium length. Drink 2026–2029.

90 points Rebecca Gibb for Vinous, July 2025

The RKV Reserve takes its name from its fruit source, the Rocky Knoll. The two-hectare parcel on Block 1 of the Amisfield estate was planted in 1999 on north and south facing Lochar gravelly slopes with a whisper-thin layer of sandy loam. Low water retention forces the roots deep and keeps yields naturally small, concentrating flavour into the berries in a way.

Hand harvested and fermented naturally with a portion of whole cluster. Some parcels of fruit fermented within the vines from which they grew. Twenty-five to thirty days on skins before pressing to 30% new French oak barriques for spontaneous malolactic fermentation. Unfined and unfiltered before bottling eighteen months later.

The 2019 vintage gave Pinots with fresh acidity and bright, perfumed red and blue fruit character. Six years on it is in a comfortable drinking window — the primary fruit still vivid but beginning to develop the savoury complexity that distinguishes aged Central Otago Pinot Noir. Best opened now but could be held for a few more years.

Drink now through 2028. Try with any grilled or roasted lighter flavoured game or fowl.