NANNY GOAT CENTRAL OTAGO PINOT NOIR 2014 ($35)

Pinot Noir can be a fickle varietal that demands absolute attention in the vineyard and the winery if you’re to bring forth its true potential. Some are soft and supple, others powerful and masculine and everything in between. Pinot Noir is an incredibly honest varietal, telling the story of its own unique place of origin like no other. For this delicious wine, small parcels of fruit were hand harvested with individual parcels cold soaked for five to seven days prior to ferment with up to 12 per cent whole bunches included in selected ferments.

Fermentation using indigenous yeasts, with the cap plunged three times daily at the peak of ferment to ensure gentle extraction of colour and tannin. The wine then spent up to 10 days on skins post ferment before a gentle pressing, followed by 10 months maturation in oak – 20 per cent new French oak and the remainder in 1-5 year old French oak barriques. This all makes for outstanding drinking pleasure considering the price but make sure you’ve got good glassware, otherwise it’s a waste of time! Try the Plumm ‘Red B’ glass, it’s fantastic and really highlights the notable cherry fruit presence on the nose and palate, with a lilt of savoury spice, and supple cranberry/red berry fruits and fine silky tannins – damn good.