Recommened by John Wilson, Irish Times, January 2013
Dark black fruit, cherries and cranberry with a touch of white pepper, spicy notes and dried herb aromas. This is a dense, dark brooding wine showing loads of texture, depth and persistence, and has become mellow with age.
The fruit was picked from different vineyard blocks and by clone. Each pick was fermented separately (80% Alexandra and 20% Gibbston fruit), with the final blending taking place prior to bottling. Aged in small French oak barrels for 11 months, using a mix of older and new (30%) barrels.
Enjoy with meats, cheeses, roast chicken and turkey, and even salmon and tuna dishes.
Proprietor, Sam Neill: "We started in 1993 with modest ambitions and first planted five acres of Pinot Noir at our original little vineyard at Gibbston, Central Otago in the deep south of New Zealand.
I wanted to produce a good Pinot Noir that would, at the very least, be enjoyed by my family and friends. Frankly, my friends will pretty much drink anything, so this didn't seem too hard. To our great surprise, our first vintage in 1997 was much better than we hoped, in spite of a difficult growing season. 1998 was a more distinguished vintage, and in 1999 we were astounded to produce a Pinot that was, we thought, world class.
We hope and trust that you will enjoy Two Paddocks wine, as much as we enjoy making it. We certainly enjoy drinking it, which makes it a little scarcer than perhaps it might be otherwise. But good luck in finding Two Paddocks anyway!"
