This is a Marlborough rosé, from Pinot Noir – an older version of a wine that came a very creditable 5th place in the WineFolio Top 10 Tasting – www.winefolio.co.nz/?p=4546. I have been known to keep some wines back for a year or five, to see what happens to their evolution. An ideal NZ rosé colour – the colour is so important – a blushing copper pink in the glass. A summery nose of red berries, cherry, red apple and a herbal, green edge to the nose. Acidity is bright and fresh, with the palate dry but full of good, ripe juice. A hint of tannin and that green mint and basil just add interest around the edges rather than distracting from a well-crafted and elegant expression. 91pts
A note on the ‘age’ experiment. I don’t think it worked here – the 2021 I tried, which was current vintage, had more bite and youthful freshness; and I can’t say that this older version seemed to benefit from the bottle age.
