TN: Dry River Pinot Noir

I decided a few months ago to work my way slowly through some verticals and horizontals of premium New Zealand Pinot Noir to draw some comparisons. These notes are from across about a nine-month period. Each wine was enjoyed with food, usually over two nights, rather than just a single “taste” – an approach that I’ve really enjoyed and has made me wonder how different my evaluation would have been had I done a single sitting of 40 x 30ml pours :slight_smile:!

DRY RIVER PINOT NOIR (Martinborough, NZ)
These wines are rightly controversial. On the one hand, it’s hard to be unimpressed, but on the other hand one wonders whether they do any justice to the beauty of Pinot Noir. This is a shame because the Syrah produced here is a real model of the complexity and beautiful flavours that Syrah can achieve and such a contrast to the shiraz style. Anyway, these are wines, and they are made from Pinot Noir so let’s not get caught up in what they are “supposed” to taste like and simply look at what they do taste like. Not everyone will like the style. It is certainly more exotic than most Pinot Noir, and indeed quite pointless when young (you can pay $15 for a decent Oz red to get rich fruit and oak instead). There is a certain “black olive” signature I get in most of these wines, and the fruit flavours are typically at the black cherry and plum end.

2004
This is really nice – a “lighter” year and maybe that plays to my preferences. At this point the flavours have come together well and show lovely balance. The nose is more perfumed than most and without the bacony olives that can show up. Good now and should hold well. 87

2003
This is rich and inky while maintaining the texture of good Pinot Noir. More fruity than spicy, but with a healthy hint of black olives and clove. At this point it’s perhaps a better stand-alone than food wine – there’s a fair amount of flair. Not that it clashes overtly, the nuances in the wine can be a bit lost with a creamy dose of mashed potato… Early days. 88+

2002
Also a “lighter” year perhaps, but it’s caught up, unable to decide whether to be a lighter wine or … a lighter fuel. Brambly fruity and apart from the colour you’d be hard-pressed to pick the grape. Some distracting acid and volatility. Olives and bacon, but against a thinnish background that suggests underripe fruit. Feels a bit awkward. Good enough now. 85

2000
What a delight. This is cleaner and more pinot than most. Bright cherry without feeling super sweet and just a lovely nose that also combines autumn leaves and five spice. Blood orange or something provides a light zest. Clean and persistent mouthfeel. My favourite. 89

1999
This could well be what the 2003 will turn into. Let’s just say that 13 years is a good innings for a new world PN and this doesn’t show any sign of collapsing. It’s built on dense, ripe fruit – definitely in the black spectrum. And there’s some leaf mulch and that cured meat and olive stuff coming through again. Such a contrast to the 2000, which I can imagine heading into a long and graceful decline – perhaps becoming more “perfumed pinot” like. This ’99 could just become more roasted and brooding. Stuffing seems to be there. 88

Good notes. I looked for a Dry River Pinot to try throughout my visit to NZ in 2003 and failed to score, even from the winery directly. We did enjoy the Gewurztraminer and a Riesling, IIRC. Full-throttle Gewurztraminer - I liked it. I finally got to the Pinot at IPNC a few years back and have had it a few times since there. I can see the appeal for the wine, and, as you say, it won’t be for everyone. I would be curious to see what these do with more time in the bottle. My suspicion is that I would not be convinced and that my infatuation with Otago will continue.

Cheers,
fred

As you can see from my notes, I think they tend to do well with time in the bottle - though two very different archetypes: 2000 (similar to what I recall '91 was like well-aged, but better fruit) vs '99 (similar to '96). My preference is for the former, but it seems that they have moved to more of the latter every vintage. Next time you come to NZ you’ll get the full treatment :slight_smile:. And I really like how the Gwz, PG and Syrah age - especially those aromatics actually… gasp… improve with a 8-12 year window.