WBW #17 "Red Kiwis" Corkdork Entry

As host of this month's theme, I've had actually quite a few bottles of NZ red over the past month and a half or so. In order to keep with the general rule of thumb to review one wine, I'll pick the better of the two I had for New Year's Eve dinner. This was suggested by Annalisa at a unique store in Carmel (where I was staying for the weekend) called Southern Latitude Wines. They feature only wines from the southern hemisphere, so I figured they new their stuff.

Amisfield Pinot Noir 2003
Central Otago

First of all, the location of the winery has to be one of the most picturesque I have ever seen (alas, only on their website, as I have not yet been tasting in NZ...) The winery and their bistro are surrounded  by mountains right out of a Peter Jackson movie.

The wine is decidedly New World in style, not unlike some Russian River pinots I have  tasted.

Color: Very purple (I know it's still in its youth) and light in body.
Nose: bright, but pretty clamped-down. Decanting would help
Taste: Bigger and richer than it looks, the flavors are big cherries, licorice, and slightly herbaceous. It has a somewhat cough-syrupy finish. Burgundian it is not.
Repeat buy?: I'm afraid not. At nearly $30 U.S., it's quite simply not a reasonable value for me in the Bay Area with the availability of great Russian River pinots and Burgundies.

 

Comments

[jon]

My mom-in-law lives literally a hop, skip and a jump away from Amisfield winery, and I have visited on a number of occasions. Lovely tasting room and visitor's center. Understand there were plans for a restaurant there as well. Agree with you about their pinots and the price point. Would actually recommend their white wines, but again there is the issue of price vs quality.