2014 - Kupe Pinot Noir, Escarpment, Martinborough

(14% alcohol; from a 1999 planting; this is Escarpment's top Pinot bottling): Bright red with ruby tones. Alluring aromas of black raspberry, musky spices, dark chocolate, anise, peppery stems and resiny earth. Wonderfully silky and plush, offering insidious intensity to its flavors of raspberry, dusty herbs and saline minerality; really mounts toward the back end. The slowly building finish dusts the entire palate with very smooth tannins and leaves behind an impression of savory extract. The longest and thickest of the Pinots I tasted this year from Escarpment, but the wine's herbal, saline and spice elements keep it light on its feet.