![[SOLD-OUT] Dry River Pinot Noir 2014](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-lifkcwga8l/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/16098/9164/apiyfmwqo__47082.1593412998.jpg?c=1 "[SOLD-OUT] Dry River Pinot Noir 2014")
Bob Campbell 98 Points!
Wine Front 95 Points!
Raymond Chan 18.5/20 Points!
Bob Campbell MW 98 points!
“An intense, velvety Pinot Noir, with strong sweet cherry, Oriental spices, plum, violet and nutty oak flavours. A powerful wine in a style that often attracts criticism for being too big and lacking varietal identity, but you only need to taste this wine after a decade in bottle to begin to appreciate its wonderful potential and true varietal character. Deliciously approachable now but much better later. ”
Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, January 2016
Wine Front 95 points!
“Wilco Lam is the chief winemaker and shifting the dial just a touch at Dry River. Dry River is firmly in the cult wine spectrum, even beyond the shores of Aotearoa. Known for wines of power and extract, this is no disappointment for those seeking full thrust of pinot noir, but there’s more than that here…
Huge perfume; bold in dark fruit, char, pepper, briar, more pepper dark cherry. So compelling. I love it. Palate is rippling with quiet power. Dark cherry juice, touch of the pickled cherry, pepper, really firm tannins, extreme length. It’s a wine that socks it to you but also has this elegance. A V12 under the hood of a Rolls Royce. It’s awesome!”
Mike Bennie, Wine Front, October 2016
Raymond Chan 18.5/20 points!
“Very dark, deep, black-hued ruby-red colour with slight purple hues on the edge. The nose is finely concentrated and tightly bound with aromas of black cherry and black-berried fruits entwined with black minerals and subtle dark herbs, and delicately complexing whole cluster stalk and stem perfumes. Black and dark red florals and a suggestion of toasty oak emerge with aeration. Medium-full bodied and elegantly presented, sweet and luscious fruit flavours of blackberries and black cherries are the feature and are melded with dark herbs and complexing stalk and stem whole cluster nuances, along with black minerals. The fruit sweetness is enhanced by fresh, lacy acidity, and the mouthfeel supported by refined tannin extraction. The palate is refreshing with the fruit sweetness balanced and driven by acid cut, and the wine carries to a long and sustained, supple-textured finish. This is an elegant and gently sweet Pinot Noir with subtle layers of complexity and fine tannin and acid freshness. Match with wild duck and pork over the next 5-6+ years. Predominantly clones 5 and 10/5 with some 115 and 777. 50% from ‘Craighall Block 6’, 25% Dry River Estate’, 15% ‘Lovat’ and 10% ‘Craighall Block 5’, fermented with under 30% whole bunches to 13.5% alc., the wine spending up to 17 days on skins and aged 12-13 months in 20% new 300 L and 350 L hogsheads.”
Raymond Chan, November 2015
Deep red in colour with a ruby hue. The nose has full dark fruit notes of blackcurrant and blackberry. At this stage the wine shows some aromatic floral notes and sinew, just enough to balance the opulence of the fruit. There are some subtle oak notes in the form of a gentle walnut like nuance. The palate is well structured at this early stage with an abundance of front palate tannins, however most are cloaked by the richness of the fruit and the density of the flavours. Some sweetness peeks through, although only as a foil for the acidity, which combined, adds to the overall palate presence. If drinking as a young wine, we would recommend decanting first and serving slightly warmer than usual. Expect this wine to cellar well.
Dry River
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