Woven Stone Ohau Gravels Pinot Noir 2012 – $$
I have driven past the Ohau Vineyard, near Levin, loads of times on my trips north of Wellington. Often thought of stopping but the timing was never right. The property has a rep for pinot gris, not one of my favourites, so it wasn’t an urgent call. I also thought the area was quite wet and an unusual place to grow grapes. But it does get hot in the summer.
Last Friday afternoon I was driving back from a job at Palmerston North when I saw the cellar door was open. I thought I might pick up a sav blanc for later. I had a small tasting of the two savs (will pick up some at a later time – both were on the money), but I was knocked over by the cinnamon notes in the pinot noir. It was a hot day, and this wine looked great.
It is a bit chillier tonight when I opened the bottle I bought…
Rich pinot noir ruby. On the nose is a light florality, with elegant spicy and savoury characters; red wax; the cinnamon is gone in the chill, but complexity increases as it opens up in the glass. I taste flavours of red cherries and cranberries and licorice, gorgeous and fruity, and the oak from part-barrel aging.
This is a great reason to buy local. It’s very young still, and would taste great in 3 yrs. Went wonderfully with my 3hr spag bol.
