2012 Escarpment Pinot Noirs

A tasting presented by Escarpment winemakers Larry McKenna and Huw Kinch to showcase their pinot noirs from the relatively cool 2012 vintage. The single vineyard wines (the Insight Series) were presented in ascending order of weight. Larry sees the Insight Series as an expression of place and vintage, from some of the older pinot noir vines in New Zealand. As the vintage was cooler, Larry said that the alcohol for each of the wines was about 0.5% lower than typical, but the whole bunch percentages needed to be reduced.

But first the standard 2011 ...

• 2011 Escarpment Pinot Noir 90 Points

  New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

  Colour bright purple. Bright, fresh aromas of raspberry, blueberry, bramble, with a herby character. Relatively sweet entry to the palate. A good example of Martinborough terroir, with a red fruited flavours and some bramble and earth, perhaps a little straightforward. A nice, silky texture, with integrated soft and rounded tannins. The relatively good vintage allowed this wine to be 55% whole bunch and 13.4% alcohol. New oak of 25%. Drink any time in the next 8-10 years.

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• 2012 Escarpment Pinot Noir Pahi 92 Points

  New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

  Colour light ruby. A perfumed, pretty nose of dark florals, spice and dried herbs. An elegant entry to the palate, a very silky, velvety texture, caressing the palate, quite rich. However, there are some fine grained tannins and fruit weight in the background. The flavours are red fruits and some herbs, earth, spice and minerals. A moderate 12.6% alcohol. This is the most forward, New World wine of the SVs. Ultimately, the wine surprises with its structure and length. Drink in the next 10 years. Grapes from the McCreanor Vineyard, Martinborough, from 25+ years old vines. Larry said that the whole bunch here was only 30%, not the typical 50%, because 2012 is a higher acid year. New oak 30%.

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• 2012 Escarpment Pinot Noir Kiwa 93 Points

  New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

  A deeper garnet colour here. The bouquet is also very different, much more underbrush, warm earth, with tons of Asian spice over a core of red fruit aromas. Also, a whiff of sulphur. On the palate, very primary with a big structure. A bit of a brute of a wine, with a strong backbone of acids. Earthy, underbrush flavours, with some smokiness, and a long savoury finish. Alcohol 12.8%. Typically, one of the most complex, Burgundy-like of New Zealand pinot noirs, and this is no exception. I wondered if this wine was shutting down a bit, but Larry said, in his view, no, that what I was seeing there was the youth and structure. A wine for the cellar, it needs 5+ years and will go 10+ years easily. My WOTN. From Cleland Vineyard, Martinborough fruit from 25 year old vines. Oak 30% new and whole cluster 30%.

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• 2012 Escarpment Pinot Noir Te Rehua 93 Points

  New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

  Colour deeper than the Kiwa. Aromas of kirsch, blackberry, black currant and other black fruits and some cloves. A fresh and quite New World expression on the palate, almost Central Otago styled. A big scaled and structured wine, with a palate of dark cherries, dark plums and other black berries, game meats and warm earth, with a touch of liquorice. Alcohol 12.8%. Good length. Vines 21 years of age from the Barton Vineyard, Martinborough. Again, new oak 30% and whole cluster 30%. Drink in the next 8+ years.

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• 2012 Escarpment Pinot Noir Kupe 93 Points

  New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

  The colour of the eighth Kupe release (planted in 1999) is deep red with purple highlights. A clean and bright bouquet of blackberries and other dark berries, with a liqueur-like component. Quite New World styled, very silky, smooth and generous, iron fist in a velvet glove, with a big structure under the supple surface. The herby whole bunch flavours are balanced on the palate by silky ripe fine grained tannins. Alcohol and oak are restrained (12.5% and 50% new oak). Larry's home vineyard wine is 35% whole bunch, with 15 years average vine age. The vines in Te Muna Road are planted at high density, in Larry's view producing greater complexity earlier than normal planting. The planting is 6,600 vines per ha versus 2,500 per ha for the other SVs. In my view, this is best Kupe so far and the close planting in the Te Muna vineyard is allowing it to catch up to the other, older SVs in complexity.

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