2023 vintage

91/100 | Wine Enthusiast
Strawberry and raspberry compote aromas mingle with softer spice-and-vanilla nuances. There’s a lovely grip of chalky, ripe tannins and freshness that counters the supple berry fruit flavors. Food friendly but oh-so-easy solo, this is a crowd-pleasing bottling for drinking now and over the next several years. — Christina Pickard

95/100 GOLD | Marlborough Wine Show
Bright fruit driven. Opulent and perfumed with good energy. Integrated oak and bold tannins with good structure.

93/100 | New Zealand National Wine Awards
nice dark fruit, dark cherry, some violets, nice weighty palate, fine tannins.

92/100 | Cameron Douglas MS
Aromas and flavours of red berries, dark strawberry, and plum are teased out across the palate, accentuated by a youthful acid line and contrasted by finely textured tannins. Medium-weighted with a bright and lively freshness, fine complexity, and well-made.

2022 vintage

93/100 | Stephen Wong
Bright ruby. This is strongly perfumed with tamarillo, red cherry and red dates, a lifted sweet spice and beguiling promise. The palate opens with sweet, crystalline flavours, pretty and fruity, supported by late, building tannins and a long finish of savoury tomato, sumac and fruit before dusty tannins arrive. Light, elegant, fruit-focused but with innate complexity and brightness, it is enjoyable right now but has just enough density and concentration to age over the midterm. Very well made, unpretentious Pinot Noir.

93/100 | Cameron Douglas MS
Aromas and flavours of red berries, dark strawberry and plum are teased out across the palate accentuated by a youthful acid line and contrasted by fine textured tannins. Medium weighted with a bright and lively freshness, fine complexity and well made

92/100 Anne Krehbiel MW Decanter
Picked in the Settlement Vineyard in the rich clay soils of the Southern Valleys, this was fermented with 20% whole bunches and aged in small oak barrels of which 15% were new. Aromatic, tart redcurrant has raspberry and conifer overtones on the nose; bright and lifted. The palate is slender but brimming with more of that aromatic red fruit, shimmering with white pepper and guided along by tannins that crunch like the thinnest film of ice and then melt. Graceful, translucent and so fresh, so aromatic.

91/100 | Wine Enthusiast

2021 vintage

93/100 | Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier
Enticing bouquet of fresh red cherry and plum flesh, there’s a light savoury spice quality, tea and barrel spice. On the palate flavours of red berries with a savoury spice and dried herb quality, chalky tannins, Earl Grey tea and fruits of the forest. The oak is balanced and perfectly placed with a nut and light smoky wood quality.

90/100 | Huon Hooke
Medium-depth, bright ruby-purple colour with a very bright, fresh and fruit-driven aroma of raspberry to sweet cherry, a hint of cinnamon/spice, the straightforward pinot fruit driving the wine. The palate tracks the nose precisely: it’s not a complex pinot but lively, taut and grapy, with a light but firm tannin handshake

92/100 | James Suckling
Cherry stones, red plums, honey, clay and red tea on the nose. Fine and creamy with gently chalky tannins and a tea-like minerality. From organically grown grapes

2020 vintage

90/100 | Wine rater                                                                                                                                The bouquet shows confected red fruit but is strongly characterized by complex, funky, stuck match, earthy sulphide characters. On the palate the wine is elegant, supple and vinous with a taut structure, crunch acidity and fine tannins.

2019 vintage

Double Gold, NZ International Wine Show, 2020

95/100 | Cameron Douglas, MS 
No mistaking the power and purity of fruit …Excellent.

94/100 | Sam Kim, Wine Orbit  
Composed and harmonious with a lengthy velvety finish.

19/20 | Joelle Thomson, Wine Judge & Wine Writer for Good Magazine 
“This is one of the best 2019 Pinot Noirs I’ve tasted this year.”

2018 vintage

92/100 | Cameron Douglas, MS – Oct 2019
Made with fruit from the Southern Valleys – this is an example of a wine that captures the senses immediately with aromas of bright, light red fruits, a floral layer and core of pinosity. On the palate there’s flavours that reflect the nose, a quiet finesse with a delicate and lighter attack. The finish is plush and fine with red fruits of plum and strawberry, flowers and spice. Balanced and well made. Drink now and through 2022.

93/100 | James Suckling – 2019
Blueberries and violet flowers, as well as light herbs and red berries, leading to a sleek, supple and gently juicy palate that delivers a fresh, attractive finish. A refined, well-made and delicious young pinot. Drink now.

2017 vintage

94/100 | Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com
Very attractive, fresh and ripe pinot here that delivers vibrant red and black cherries in a spicy wrapping on the nose and palate. The tannins are beautifully groomed, even and plush. This is looking good. Drink now.

2016 vintage

93/100 | James Suckling – 2017
The Glover family’s little label has taken flight now it has the full attention of winemaker Ben and the wines are looking as good as they ever have. Complex sweet baking spices and ripe darker cherry to red cherry fruit tones. The palate has an impressive combination of depth, power and integration that leaves a seamless impression. Drink now.

4 stars | Winestate – 2017
A wine that created some discussion. Not as immediately alluring as some, this pinot is restrained at first with fruit very much in the crunchy red berry spectrum, plus some cinnamon spice and dried herbs intertwined through. The Palate is silky and textural and the finish is long. There is completeness to this wine that makes it very beguiling.

2014 vintage

• Silver, Royal Easter Show, 2016
• Silver, Air New Zealand Wine Awards, 2015
• 89/100 | Cameron Douglas, 2015

Very bright with lots of ruby and purple hues; aromas of ripe berry fruits, plum, cranberry, red cherry, lots of red apple skin and easy oak tones. On the palate – plush, lush, fruity and dry; a youthful yet very tasty expression of Pinot Noir with plenty of red berry fruit flavours laced with gentle oak moments, fine easy almost silky tannins and plenty of acidity. Drink now and through 2017 or cellar for another year.

2013 vintage

• 2 stars, The Great New Zealand Pinot Noir Classification

2012 vintage

91/100 | Nicks Wine Merchant’s Wine and Spirit Guide
Semi translucent dark crimson red colour with dark crimson hue. The nose shows very good intensity with top notes of ripe dark cherries infused with anise followed by dark plums, well integrated toasty cedar and spice. Light to medium weight the palate has flavours of dark cherries alongside some anise, toasty cedar and spice. Lacks that extra degree of power and depth on the palate. Supple mouthfeel with velvet smooth tannins. Aftertaste of dark cherries, dark plum, anise and subtle spicy toasty cedar. Cellar 3-4 years.

91/100 | Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com – 2015
A savory and earthy style of pinot noir that has a fairly assertive oak treatment, some bracken and herbs on the nose, amid ripe red cherry fruits and sous bois notes. The palate has bright, fine tannins that fan out early on to support crunchy red cherry fruit flavors. Nice balance and a gently grippy finish.

18+/20 | Raymond Chan – 2014
Moderately deep ruby-red colour, lighter garnet on rim. The bouquet is gently broad and voluminous with harmoniously entwined aromas of lifted red berry fruits, spices and cedary oak, revealing its depth and nuance in the glass. Medium-bodied, fresh and succulent red berry fruit flavours form an integrated melange with waves of spices, dried herbs and oak cedar. The fruit is supported by very fine-grained tannin extraction, building to form a concentrated, firm core with linearity and drive. The mouthfeel is satin-like, flowing seamlessly and with balance to a refined, sweet-fruited finish. This is a harmonious, sweet-fruited and oak-spiced Pinot Noir with a refined palate. Serve with Middle Eastern lamb and Asian pork dishes over the next 5-6 years. Fruit from the Southern Valleys, fermented to 13.5% alc., and aged in French oak.

2011 vintage

• Silver, Marlborough Wine Show, 2013
• 3.5 stars, Bob Campbell MW, 2014

4 stars – Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier
A youthful and lively bouquet of raspberry centred fruit, red apple skin and crisp cherry ideas. A distinctive and separate oak layer points to a wine still in development. Dry, firm and youthful with medium+ acidity; fine but firm tannins and a collection of raspberry centred fruit flavours. A lovely wine that is both young to the taste and generous in its simplicity. Balanced overall and well made. 2+ years of cellar time required.