2012 Leah Pinot Noir

(made with wild yeasts and bottled without fining or filtration): Medium red. Pungent, slightly reduced aromas of raspberry, red cherry, mocha and spices, plus a whiff of truffley underbrush. Concentrated, sappy, slightly high-toned Pinot with a light touch to its intense flavors of red cherry, spices and wild mint. Strong mineral energy contributes to the impression of sharp definition and leavens the wine's sweetness. Finishes with a fine dusting of tannins and excellent spicy persistence and building soil-driven perfume. An excellent, complex Marlborough Pinot Noir with lovely inner-mouth lift and good aging potential.

A blend of fruit from Tatou, Noa and Raupo Creek vineyards. 12% new French barriques for 11 months. TA 5.3 g/l, pH 3.7. Fermented without any stems. Pale to mid ruby. Gentle and red-fruited nose. Slight stemmy note (herbal and savoury as opposed to green/unripe) adding further to the freshness. Beautifully fragrant. Light floral note and a touch of orange – tangy and full of energy. Very sweet and gentle on the palate too but with lovely freshness and brightness. Gentle but long. Caressing fruit sweetness. When you go back to it, you can see the tannin sneaking in on the finish, suggesting it will age longer than you might think to start with. Gets more stemmy as it opens up. (JH)

Pale ruby colored with a touch of purple, the 2012 Leah Pinot Noir offers a slightly reduced nose of tires and tar over a good core of black cherries, pepper and Mediterranean herbs. Medium-bodied, it's quite tight-knit and reticent in the mouth with earth and herbal layers fleshing out the chewy tannins, crisp acid and long finish.