Region | |
---|---|
Subregion | New Zealand > Central Otago |
Colour | Red |
Type | Still |
Floral yet savory, fruity yet smoky, the 2022 Doctor's Flat Vineyard is a most delightfully perfumed style. While there's no doubting the innate power and sinewy muscle, this force is contained within a compact, focused core. It has a sense of energy and momentum with sappy acidity and resolved drawn-out tannins. It is still a young, taut style but has the substance and structure to evolve gradually and gracefully. 2025 - 2035
The 2022 Doctor's Flat Vineyard Pinot Noir is from the Doctor's Flat Vineyard (planted in 2002) in Bannockburn, on old glacial moraine. The altitude is 277 meters above sea level. Aromatically, this wine leads with a combination of savory and floral (sumac and lavender, for example). The tannins are pulverized and fine in the mouth, and the wine leans on mineral, graphite and ferruginous sorts of characters rather than rounded fruit. It's a svelte, sleek wine, with granulated tannins that pixelate and expand across the palate. The mid-palate and finish are the highlights here. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
The Doctor's Flat has the real sense of needing time in the bottle, more so than the other two bottlings in this case. Mid ruby in colour, it has a fine, spicy nose of pink peppercorns, plums, soy and ripe strawberries. The palate layers red and black cherries together, bolstered by grippy ripe tannins and a hint of wood smoke. Layered and vibrant, this should only improve with a year or two in bottle, exhibiting a fine, persistent red fruit finish.