Pinot Noir
2012
Dog Point Vineyard is one of the oldest privately established vineyards in Marlborough. Established in 2002 by partners, Ivan & Margaret Sutherland, and James & Wendy Healy. After working together at Cloudy Bay, Ivan and James decided to return to a more hands-on approach and establish their own wine label. Dog Point Vineyard is located at the confluence of the Brancott and Omaka Valleys in Marlborough, New Zealand’s premium wine growing region. The name “Dog Point” dates from earliest...
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Attractive, earthy and spicy aromas are wound seamlessly into bright, red and darker cherries. This is complex and fragrant with dialed-in oak. The palate has impressively intense red-cherry flavors with succulent acidity and smooth, fluid tannins. Composed finish.
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Lovely layers of lucid aromas are on show from first sniff: black cherry and red berry cordial, cocktail bitters-like herbs and spices and a dark chocolate nuance. There’s lovely concentration and harmony here.
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Lush and juicy, with notes of cherry preserves, blood orange and fresh raspberry. Accents of lavender and violet linger in the background, with hints of clove, malty Assam black tea and tomato leaf on the finish
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This has a complex nose of wild strawberries, spiced cherries, hazelnuts, thyme, nutmeg and bark. Sleek tannins with a creamy texture. Medium body. Silky, long and sophisticated with wonderful depth. From organically grown grapes.
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Ripe cherries, red plums, raspberries, baking spices and dried flowers on the nose. Medium-to full-bodied with fresh acidity and a velvety texture. Structured and chalky. Flavorful finish with excellent length. A couple of years of bottle age will make this even better, but it’s delicious already.
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Shows salted caramel, maraschino cherry and wild blackberry and blueberry flavors that are plush and robust, with expressive notes of espresso, forest floor, sage, spice and tobacco lingering on a long, velvety frame. Drink now through 2030.
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Medium to deep ruby-purple in color, the 2012 Pinot Noir opens to a lovely core of red and black cherry fruits accented with hints of violets, lavender, forest floor and mossy bark. Medium-bodied, it has a solid backbone of grainy tannins and lively acid supporting the muscular berry and earthy flavors. It finishes long and clean.
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Strawberries, cranberries and lavender with orange zest, sweet squash and a hint of tomato leaf. Medium-bodied with refreshing acidity and velvety tannins. Zesty and flavoursome on the palate. Good harmony. From organically grown grapes.
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My favorite Dog Point Pinot Noir to date, the 2019 is seductive and savory, While transparent, it shows the depth of color so typical of this small-berried, high-anthocyanin vintage. Sourced from the clay-loam slopes of the southern valleys, this offers a full, ripe style, plush texture and rounded tannins that are almost cocoa-powdery, with log-fire-like smoky notes derived from 18 months in French oak. A portion of whole clusters in the ferment (30%) brings a lifted floral character to meet the cherry and plum flavors. The lengthy finish provides a fragrant, complex conclusion.
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The 2020 Pinot Noir is lithe and lean, with very fine exotic spice (star anise, fennel, et al.) and dark fruit in the mouth. This lingers as it quietly unfurls with nuance and detail in spades. This is lovely, elegant, restrained and very good. It’s not loud and will age brilliantly. There are sour red cherries, pomegranate molasses, white pepper, matcha and flowers—all wonderful things—with tobacco to close. As mentioned, it will age beautifully and will only increase in amplitude and complexity. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
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