2018 - Kupe Pinot Noir, Escarpment, Martinborough

Hailing from a 20-year-old vineyard, Kupe is a little younger than some of the other single vineyards but has higher-density planting - around 7,000 vines per hectare. However, being on its own roots, it is being slowly replanted. (The fruit from these young vines is not included in this cuvée.) This is a mouth-filling and muscular style and those muscles are honed; the palate is coated by an abundance of tannins. There's plenty of density here, with around 50% new oak, giving both a smoky tone and a vanilla-like character to the brooding black cherry and dried herb flavors, but it's in keeping with the wine's substance. With a whopping 70% whole bunch, this is a little “stemmy” in that those tannins offer a furry firmness. There's no way this wine is ready to be poured yet, so squirrel it away in the cellar. Another accomplished and Kupe-esque style; this tricky vintage has made it just a little shy of outstanding but well worth a place in any self-respecting NZ Pinot lover’s wine rack.