Te Rehua is made using hand-picked fruit from the ‘Barton’ vineyard on Huangarua Road, in Martinborough – the 2016 growing season that was considered “exceptional” at the time, with no rain in the harvesting period. After a decade it is time to catch up with how it is looking now.
A deep ruby-purple colour in the glass. The perfume is complex and compelling – quite hard to pull your nose out and actually take a sip. Red plum, cherry and boysenberry fruit, with rosemary, verbena and mocha, then a rose petal and violet floral note. The palate has a solid spine showing grainy tannin, in tandem with integrated acid and a subtle touch of toasty oak – there’s no hard edges here. Escarpment Pinot tends to have a ‘sous bois’ savoury edge of autumn leaves and peat, and it shows here too, adding another element to a seamless, but characterful, expression. 94pts
