This year we awarded a perfect 100-point rating to a New Zealand wine for the first time. Rippon’s re-release of the 2010 Mature Vine Pinot Noir demonstrates the structure and depth that Central Otago producers have flirted with for the last decade, making it No. 1 in our Top 100 Wines of New Zealand 2019 list.
Pinot noir really sets the defining tone for New Zealand’s highest quality wines. Of the top 10 wines, only one non-pinot noir makes the grade: the Trinity Hill Syrah Homage 2017 from Hawkes Bay, in eighth spot. It is an exceptionally spicy, suave and silky syrah that hits a very high level of quality and a rating of 98 points.
The sole recipient of a 99-point rating and our second-place wine for 2019 is the exceptional Felton Road Pinot Noir Block 5 2017. This single parcel has been steadily elevated and fine-tuned by vineyard manager Gareth King and winemaker Blair Walter. Together they have refined this always detailed and structurally handsome wine to a point of exceptional purity and definition.
Read more: Pinot noir leads New Zealand’s new quality baseline
Rippon appears again in third place with the single-parcel bottling of Tinkers Field 2016 (98 points). It has similar traits to their 100-point 2010 wine with both profound and commanding structural style. It also delivers complexity and harmony in the mode of the very greatest expressions of pinot noir.
The Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2017 and Escarpment Pinot Noir Kupe 2017 (both rated 98 points) sit side by side at positions four and five and show Martinborough’s prowess in pinot noir. These are such different wines, but both deliver convincing textural qualities, showing power and length in a plush and smooth style.
Following them is a collaboration between Burgundian Francois Millet and Prophet’s Rock’s Paul Pujol: the Prophet’s Rock Pinot Noir Cuvée Aux Antipodes 2017 (98 points). It is a unique take on Central Otago’s Bendigo terroir with succulent tannins giving a long, powerful and detailed impression. The fact that Millet (winemaker at Burgundy’s Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüe) is making wine here is a huge endorsement for the whole region, and the fact that it is this good doubly so.
Read more: Top 100 Wines of New Zealand 2018
The Bell Hill Canterbury Pinot Noir 2016 (98 points) is another strong showing from this tiny, close-planted vineyard. The balance of oak is the best I have tasted to date, adding to the pristine pinot fruit without dominating, even at this young stage.
Two Paddocks Pinot Noir The First Paddock 2018 (97 points) shows a sappy, floral array of red and blue fruits with an astute play of oak showcasing the qualities of this producer, and the Te Whare Ra Pinot Noir SV5182 2015 (97 points) is likewise one of a series of great pinots that puts this Marlborough producer into the nation’s first division.
The producers in this list are those that have committed to the highest standards of farming, often strongly ethical, and are consistently striking the right tone of quality and style.
Pinot’s intricacy, potential for site-driven expression and finely detailed character all loom large in defining this year’s New Zealand Top 100. The country’s growing status as a source of great pinot noir bodes well for the future and for other styles of wine to win similarly high acclaim too.
Enjoy!
Read more: Top 100 New Zealand Wines of 2017
– Nick Stock, senior editor
Nick surveys Elms Vineyard at Felton Road with Blair Walter. This is the Block 5 pinot noir parcel, the source of one of the greatest and most consistent pinot noirs in the Central Otago region.
