Pinot Noir Te Rehua, Escarpment 2020

The 2020 Pinot Noir Te Rehua is a fine, supple and scented Pinot Noir offering rich density on its silken palate. It has a soft core of fruit that fills the mouth with herbal, floral, blackberry and fruit cake flavors. While the mid-palate is meditative, the combination of new oak and a generous amount of whole bunches in the ferment creates an abundance of tannin that grips the palate with dry, savory tannins with the texture of cocoa powder. It will certainly age with its firm, lightly astringent structure, although I do wonder if perhaps pulling back on stems and/or oak might have been more sympathetic. Drink 2023-2033.