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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2018 and 2024 (based on 4 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.7 pts. and median of 89 pts. in 22 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by andrew.cameron on 1/10/2024 & rated 91 points: Under cork - not sure why? Had this after a bottle of 2011 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges, as felt Shubert's style leans more towards the Burgundian style of wine making, perhaps that explains the cork? More oak and fruit that the French with less development. Lighter and fresher with a bit more development in it. Drink by 2028. A (176 views) | | | Tasted by melvinyeowq on 8/12/2023 & rated 91 points: Gathering at Paul's: My experience was quite different from previous tasters - this presented as quite old-world in nature and I was very sure that this was a German Pinot. Smoky, slightly sweet nose, palate was delicate with dark cherry fruit. Very surprised this turned out to be a Kiwi since it didn't have any jamminess. (642 views) | | | Tasted by honest bob on 2/12/2022 flawed bottle: From 75cl, optically good cork. Massively oxidised, smells like overripe fruit in a dustbin. This would not have happened under screwcap. Do not buy this wine under cork. (920 views) | | | Tasted by honest bob on 12/26/2021 & rated 84 points: From 75cl, good cork. Cooked plummy fruit as noted on 11.12.2021. This bottle was flabby, sagging, on its last legs. Bad news for a premium-priced PN at age 8. 84P(?) (941 views) | | | Tasted by honest bob on 12/11/2021 & rated 85 points: From 75cl, good cork, decanted 1 hour. Oh dear. Plummy, cooked damson-like fruit, 14.5% alc., tastes like a meretricious hot climate Grenache (blend?), perhaps from a lesser Spanish region, just saved by high pinot noir acidity and a hint of dried soy sauce. Fading fast, so drink up now and buy something else next time. Some residual hopes for my final bottle, but those too are fading fast. 85-86P (936 views) | | | Tasted by rwpalmer on 11/7/2021 & rated 89 points: Very similar impression to last time around. Still big, plummy, and again the word "chunky" came to mind. Fun but not fine. (746 views) | | | Tasted by honest bob on 10/24/2021 & rated 88 points: From 75cl, optically good cork, decanted one hour. The dreaded „bottle variation“ strikes again: fading in every respect, this was right at the end of its drinking window. So the mission is now to drink up my three remaining bottles in the next 12 months, hope they are in better shape, and forget about rebuying anything from Schubert until - like every other serious NZ producer - the wines are available with screwcap. 88-89P (812 views) | | | Tasted by guy12 on 5/15/2021 & rated 88 points: Deep ruby colour, ripe red fruits veering towards jammy, no heat from the alcohol, a sweeter full bodied style of Pinot (384 views) | | | Tasted by honest bob on 2/27/2021 & rated 92 points: From 75cl, perfect cork (although why any self-respecting NZ estate is still using cork is beyond me). Unlike my previous bottle, no TCA, but why should the consumer, who is after all financing the whole enterprise, have to feel relieved, even grateful about that? Decanted 45 minutes, continued to improve until final drop. Expansive, ripe PN perfume; full-bodied entry with luscious dark black cherry fruit; full-on mid-palate in perfect balance despite 14,5% alc(!) showing iodine, soy sauce, more black cherry, just enough acidity (no hint of biting over-acidification). If you love top Russian River PN and top Chilean PN (Ocio...) and don't mind weighty, succulent, buxom, Rubenesque lines, then you might just enjoy this as much as we did this evening. Entering full maturity, no hurry, 4 bottles to go. Life can be sweet... 92 (640 views) | | | Tasted by honest bob on 11/6/2020 flawed bottle: From 75cl, optically good cork smelled horribly of mould and lightly of TCA on opening, decanted 45 minutes to little avail. Exactly where is this wine coming from? Some backwater of la belle France? An antedeluvian Estate in Assmannshausen? Surely not New Zealand? Quite why any serious NZ producer should still choose to bottle under cork I can't imagine, but the originally outstanding wine under this particular defective cork certainly suffered as a result. Muted aromatics; sweet dark-fruit palate, smooth finish. All under a veil of mould. Who cares 7 years down the line? Not the producer: the wine was sold years ago, and the consumer is left holding the baby. I hope and expect that among my remaining 5 bottles there will be a majority of good ones, but will hold off rebuying Schubert PN until I can purchase bottles sealed with screwcap, DIAM or glass stoppers. There are enough alternatives these days, and plenty of experience getting closures right Down Under. This bottle might just scrape 87P in this condition, but showed so far under its true potential all I can record here is NR, and CAVEAT EMPTOR. (702 views) | | | Tasted by rwpalmer on 5/4/2020 & rated 89 points: This is a big, chunky pinot but without any over-ripeness. Quite a lot going on and plenty of structure to last 3-5 years more. I think that I under-estimated this or expected too much last time around. (698 views) | | | Tasted by honest bob on 11/25/2019 & rated 92 points: From 75cl, perfect cork, opened but not decanted 1 hour. Glorious, explosive cherry/red-fruit scent; big-bodied but well-balanced super-clean entry with delicious crunchy dark cherry fruit, bright but not aggressive acidity and real depth on the mid-palate. Long, resonant finish. A super New World PN at a fair price (33 EUR German retail). Will keep and gradually evolve for 5-10 years (and I look forward to every single bottle in the cellar). 92P (1169 views) | | | Tasted by rwpalmer on 9/30/2019 & rated 88 points: Mature. Soft palate. Nose is sappy and lacking real depth. Not bad but could do with more freshness of fruit, acidity and tannin. (709 views) | | | Tasted by LindsayM on 2/22/2019 & rated 89 points: Popped and poured , good long cork wet to 1mm
Colour , dense garnet ruby colour , mush darker than I was expecting , maybe 3 weeks on skins 14/15
Nose med intensity savoury end of the spectrum wild berries, forest floor, cedar and array of spices and dried herbs , good complexity 27/30
Palate med to full flavoured very masculine savoury style , flavours similar to the nose , lacks floral perfume , plenty of tannins med finish 40/44
Overall in a word Brooding . this wine has seen a lot of oak and I think still needs to intergrate more , it will be interesting to try it again in a couple of years 8/11 (962 views) | | | Tasted by denb on 9/6/2018 & rated 94 points: Much improved since last taste. Drinking well now. (1082 views) | | | Tasted by Goodjob! on 9/30/2017 & rated 91 points: First smell reminded me a good Chianti Riserva because of the oak. Took 30 min to open. Very ripe, not burgundy at all. Paired well with grilled salmon. Drink well right now but could use a year or two to let the oak integrate more. (1503 views) | | | Tasted by fc1910 on 3/9/2017: A short Afternoon with some New World-wines (Mövenpick retail store, Hamburg): A lot of herbs on the nose, silky texture showing a lot of aromas from the oak, smooth tannin but for me too concentrated, tasty cooked black fruit, coffee, mocha, 15,5% ABV, fat voluptuous body, lacking elegance, ending long, but this is a style of PN not made for me, (**-***?) (2239 views) | | | Tasted by chatters on 10/9/2016: Pinotpalooza (Carriageworks, Redfern): Initially funky and meaty then blew off to reveal muted & perfumed cherry fruit…more dark fruited on the palate though and savoury. Juicy and fleshy. Okay (2439 views) | | | Tasted by denb on 5/21/2016 & rated 91 points: Big on fruit when opened. Lots of red berries and lots of power. Tannins more pronounced after a few hours and an increase in temperature. Potentially better after a few years. I'm testing the next bottle one year from now. (1828 views) | | | Tasted by dbkitc on 4/25/2016 & rated 90 points: (at The Clove Club - London) Excellent wine showing good flavor penetration and nice brightness. A big profile but not heavy. (90) (1663 views) |
| By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (2/13/2023)
(Schubert, Block B Pinot Noir Wairarapa Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, New Zealand’s Pellucid Wines: More Light Than Heat (May 2016) (5/1/2016)
(Schubert Wines Pinot Noir Block B) Subscribe to see review text. | By Mike Bennie
The WINEFRONT (3/10/2016)
(Schubert Block B Wairarapa Pinot Noir) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JancisRobinson.com and Vinous and The WINEFRONT. (manage subscription channels) |
| Schubert Producer website2013 Schubert Pinot Noir Block B Schubert Wines - 2013 Pinot Noir "Block B"
ORIGIN: Wairarapa
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS:
Mild spring leading to ideal conditions for fruit-set in December. Summer was very hot and dry with some rain only towards the very end of autumn.
DATE OF HARVEST: 9th - 15th April 2013
HARVEST & VINIFICATION:
Block B is a selection of the Dijon Pinot Noir clones; specifically the clones 115, 667, 777, 114 and 113. Hand-picked and careful selection of grapes. 100% de-stemmed, cold-maceration and fermentation in stainless steel vats and left on “skins” for 3 weeks. Aged in 45% new and 55% used French oak barriques for 18 months.
DATE OF BOTTLING: 21st January 2015
ALC: 14.5% VOL
2013 TASTING NOTES:
A lifting alluring savoury nose that leads to wild berries, pure forest floor, cedar and array of spices. A smooth entrance of wild berries, with notes of mocha, spices with a focused savoury core of fine mineral tannins. A complex balanced Pinot Noir that has a long promising life ahead.
DRINKING TEMPERATURE: 16-18 ºC
CELLARING: 5-12 yearsPinot Noir Varietal character (Appellation America) | Varietal article (Wikipedia)
Pinot Noir is the Noble red grape of Burgundy, capable of ripening in a cooler climate, which Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot will not reliably do. It is unpredictable and difficult both to grow and to vinify, but results in some of the finest reds in the world. It is believed to have been selected from wild vines two thousand years ago. It is also used in the production of champagne. In fact, more Pinot Noir goes into Champagne than is used in all of the Cote d'Or! It is also grown in Alsace, Jura, Germany, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Romania, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Italy, and so forth, with varying degrees of success.
Pinot Noir is one of the world's most prestigious grapes. It is very difficult to grow and thrives well in France, especially in Champagne and Burgundy. Pinot Noir thrives less in hot areas, is picky on soil, and deserves some oak storage.
Pinot Noir, or Blauburgunder / Spätburgunder in German, is a blue grapevine - and, as the German name suggests, the grape comes originally from Burgundy in France.
The grape, which thrives in calcareous soils, is used primarily for the production of red wine, and it is widely regarded as producing some of the best wines in the world. The wine style is often medium-bodied with high fruit acidity and soft tannins. It can be quite peculiar in fragrance and taste, and not least in structure - which may be why it is referred to as "The Grapes Ballerina".
Pinot Noir is also an important ingredient in sparkling wines, not least in champagne since it is fruity, has good acidity and contains relatively little tannins.
The grape is considered quite demanding to grow. The class itself consists of tightly packed grapes, which makes it more sensitive to rot and other diseases.
Pinot Noir changes quite easily and is genetically unstable. It buds and matures early which results in it often being well ripened. Climate is important for this type of grape. It likes best in cool climates - in warm climates the wines can be relaxed and slightly pickled.
In cooler climates, the wine can get a hint of cabbage and wet leaves, while in slightly warmer regions we often find notes of red berries (cherries, strawberries, raspberries, currants), roses and slightly green notes when the wine is young. With age, more complex aromas of forest floor, fungi and meat emerge.
In Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Hungary, it often produces light wines with less character. However, it has produced very good results in California, Oregon and New Zealand.
With its soft tannins and delicate aroma, it is excellent for white fish, chicken and light meat. For the stored wines you can serve small game. Classic duck breast is a matter of course, a Boeuf Burgundy and Pinot Noir are pure happiness.
Pinot Noir loses quality by over-harvesting.
Pinot Noir is prone to diseases, especially rot and mildew. Viruses cause major problems especially in Burgundy.
Pinot Noir are large round grapes with thin skins. Relatively high in alcohol content. Medium rich tannins and good with acid.
As a young person, Pinot Noir has a distinctly fruity character such as raspberries, cherries and strawberries.
A mature Pinot Noir, the taste is different. Cherry goes into plum and prune flavors. It smells of rotten leaves, coffee, moist forest floor and animal wine. This must be experienced.
In warm climates you find boiled plum, some rustic, little acid.
If the grapes are over-grown, the wine will be thin, with little color and flavor.New Zealand New Zealand Wine (New Zealand Winegrowers)North IslandHaving a cool factor is a great start.
When they were creating climate classifications for wine regions around the world, we weren’t exactly complaining that New Zealand’s was called ‘cool.’ Step out in the middle of the day on a classic Marlborough or Hawke’s Bay’s summer, and you may wonder if they got it right. The brightness is beautifully intense, and sunshine plentiful.
But stay about a little. Until nightfall. The shift from day to night isn’t just defined by light, but temperature too. It chills quickly. The South Pacific Ocean taking its deep breath over our two islands. For the grapes, this makes for more than a chilly night. Ripening is gradual, almost methodical. As each day edges the grape towards ripeness, each night captures its flavour.
This pattern creates one of the longest grape growing seasons on earth – and those unmistakable, remarkable zesty flavours, and fragrance that are the hallmark of our wines.

Sometimes the world really is your oyster.
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