Rippon "Rippon" Mature Vine Pinot Noir 2020

Reviews

James Suckling (JamesSuckling.com): 97/100. Extremely perfumed with a pretty ripeness and clarity, offering plums and al-dente strawberries. Some cantaloupe, too. It's medium- to full-bodied with juicy fruit that's lovely and open. You want to drink it now. And do. Crunchy yet velvety and caressing in the mouth-feel from the lovely, open tannins. .... Best in a year or two, but right on.

Decanter: 95/100. (Tasted by: Anne Krebiehl MW (at Spotlight on Central Otago Pinot Noir Tasting, 19 Feb 2024) Part of Exploring the terroir and stylistic evolution of Central Otago Pinot Noir). Grown on coarse schist, this wine unites all the mature vines of the whole property, including parcels from Emma's Block and Tinker's Field. Intense iron oxide and the scent of cherry and plum skin, still smoky, flinty and funky in parts, make for an intriguing nose. More air then brings floral overtones and maple syrup spice. The palate immediately shows white pepper and briar rose, while fine, smooth tannins have unobtrusive density and light-footed juiciness. The finish is salty and spicy, that blood-like sense of iron oxide is back, lending a beautiful salty echo on this wine that is more about deep-seated savouriness and fine structure rather than obvious fruit. Drinking Window: 2024 - 2040

Tasting note

Layers of softly silky, mineral-edged flavours of red fruits, plums, cherries are nuanced with spice and herbal notes. Juicy, pure and mouthwatering on the palate with fine-grained tannins that lead to the long, sustained finish.

Aromas and flavours:

Additional information

Type: red wine

Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir

Food match: Match with lamb dishes and Mediterranean cuisine.

Winemaking: Picked by hand into small, 10kg cases allowing the fruit to arrive at the winery's sorting table undamaged and intact.This wine represents many small parcels of different clones, vine ages and micro-sites within a single Vineyard: Rippon. They were picked and fermented separately in 13, 2-tonne stainless-steel fermenters.

Each parcel is fermented and matured apart before blending. The winery's resident yeast population (non-inoculated) completed cuvasion in 14-28 days. The ferments reached maximum temperatures of 13-29°C Celsius. Total time of skin contact: 14-28 days, depending on parcel.

12 months of new (17%) to 4 year old French oak barrels. The malolactic fermentation went through unaided (non-inoculated) in springtime; it was then racked back into barrel and allowed a second winter in barrel before being run directly into bottle without filtering or fining. Total Time in Barrel: 18 months.

Decanting: Recommended

Cellaring potential: 2029+

Produced and bottled with loving care by: Rippon Vineyard and Winery Ltd., 246 Wanaka-Mount Aspiring Road, Wanaka 9381, New Zealand

Imported and distributed with pride by: vinabonus GmbH, Simmedenweg 40, 34134 Kassel, Germany

Can't get enough of Pinot Noir? Discover our Pinot Noir assortment.