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DESERT HEART PINOT NOIR 2007

A full, opulent wine with lots of complex, pure Central Otago Pinot Noir... "This should please both classicists and modernists" : Jancis Robinson, Master of Wine
Gold medal, Central Otago Pinot Noir Trophy, International Wine Challenge 2010.

~~NZ$42.95~~ PROMO PRICE NZ$34.95 per bottle - LIMIT 4

LAKE HAYES PINOT GRIS 2008

winter special ~~$24.95~~ NZ$19.50 per bottle, $234 case
6 bottles $123

PINOT LOVER'S DOZEN

NZ$467.40 (ave. price NZ$38.95 per bottle)
all fantastic pinots with rave reviews and awards:
Archangel Pinot Noir 2008, Wooing Tree Pinot Noir 2008, Remarkable Wines Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir 2007, Lowburn Ferry Pinot Noir 2007, Lowburn Ferry Pinot Noir 2008, Mount Dottrel Pinot Noir 2007, Peregrine Pinot Noir 2008, Pisa Range Pinot Noir 2007, Brennan Pinot Noir 2007, Desert Heart Pinot Noir 2007, Rockburn Pinot Noir 2008, Judge Rock Pinot Noir 2007

1 September 2010

Central Otago wines had strong results in the NZ Winegrowers Bragato Wine Awards held last weekend in Blenheim.
Gold medals were awarded to the following Central Otago wines: Desert Heart Riesling 2009 , Domain Road Riesling 2009, Black Quail Estate Pinot Noir 2009, Domain Road Pinot Noir 2009, Gibbston Valley China Terrace 2009, Lowburn Ferry Home Block 2009, Mondillo Pinot Noir 2009, Mount Dottrel Pinot Noir 2009, Pisa Range Estate "Black Poplar Block" Pinot Noir 2008.
CHAMPION WINE OF SHOW and the BRAGATO TROPHY went to Cobblestone Te Muna Pinot Noir 2009 from Martinborough.

1 September 2010
Rockburn 2009 Pinot Noir last week scooped the award for Best Pinot Noir and the Trophy for Wine of Show at the Association of Australian Boutique Winemakers Awards. Rockburn’s winemaker, Malcolm Rees-Francis, commented. “We are thrilled to have received such an outstanding accolade for our 2009 Pinot Noir, against some evidently fierce competition. Certainly this award once again places Central Otago at the forefront of great Pinot Noir regions, which was exemplified by the ‘09 vintage; a classic for Central Otago with excellent concentration and character evident in the wines. The Rockburn ‘09 Pinot is already showing great complexity, poise and grace and it can only improve with age.” Release date October 2010.

Other recent accolades:
Gibbston Valley Pinot Gris recently won the trophy for Best New Zealand Wine at the 2010 Japan Wine Challenge. The same wine was also awarded the trophy for Best New World White Wine at the Japan competition.

1 September 2010

Four Central Otago representatives head to Burgundy next week on the Burgundy Exchange Programme to experience a vintage in the homeland of pinot noir. They are: Duncan Gibson (Peregrine), Sam Jary (Quartz Reef), David Foes (Amisfield) and Jean Gibson (Lowburn Ferry) - c'est moi!!! Yes, that's me....!!! The exchange occurs every year between the CFPPA in Beaune, ( a viticulture and winemaking institute in Burgundy) and the Otago Polytechnic in conjunction with Central Otago winegrowers. I'll report back in October. Jean

7 July 2010

The 2007 Desert Heart Pinot Noir produced by Bannockburn based Desert Heart Vineyards has been awarded a trophy at the worlds most influential independent wine competition – the International Wine Challenge (IWC) in the UK this week - see our hot deals.

New releases for Felton Road wines, and we have a new label just released, Ellero, from the Pisa Terrace near Cromwell - 2008 pinot noir and a 2009 Gewürztraminer.

21 May 2010

Three Central Otago pinot noirs have won gold medals at one of the top events on the international wine calendar: - Desert Heart Pinot Noir 2007, Grasshopper Rock Pinot Noir 2008 and Domain Road Pinot Noir 2008 all won gold at the the prestigious and influential 27th annual London International Wine Challenge this week where a record number of 46 countries and thousands of wines were entered - trophies will be announced later in the year.

Also this week, Lowburn Ferry Pinot Noir 2008 won a Gold Medal at the Liquorland International Wine Competition in Auckland.
See our TOP PICKS

14 May 2010

The busy harvest season is nearing an end in Central Otago with the bulk of grapes picked and in the wineries. Growers across the region are very happy with the crop quality, and we look forward to some great wines from 2010!

New "Serious Cellar" Pinot Noir Selection just released includes some really difficult to get wines Felton Road Block 5, Mondillo Pinot Noir 2008 (Champion Wine at the recent Easter Wine Show), and a "wild card" from Martinborough - Dry River Pinot Noir 2008. See our "selections" page.

25 March 2010

Central Otago wineries and winemakers came up trumps at the Royal Easter Wine Show Awards held in Auckland last weekend.
Mondillo Pinot Noir 2008 won the Trophy for Champion Pinot Noir, and then the tiny Bendigo vineyard swept aside 1517 wines from around the country to go on to be named Champion Wine of Show
The vineyard has produced six vintages, the first in 2004, each picking up awards and delivering a loyal global following.
The wine is made at Quartz Reef in Cromwell. Quartz Reef is headed by Rudi Bauer who was awarded the coveted title of Winemaker of the Year at the same event. Wooing Tree Blondie 2009 - a unique Blanc de Noir made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes - was also awarded Champion Rosé at the show.

12 March 2010
Central Otago gold medal winners at the Royal Easter Wine Show in Auckland: Mt Difficulty Target Gully Riesling 2009, Gibbston Valley Pinot Gris 2009, Hawkshead Pinot Gris 2009, Davishon Pinot Noir 2007, Desert Heart Mackenzies Run Pinot Noir 2008, Lake Hayes Pinot Noir 2008, Maori Point Pinot Noir 2008, Mondillo Pinot Noir 2008, The Aurora Bendigo Pinot Noir 2008, Valli Bannockburn Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008, Waitiri Creek Pinot Noir 2007, Wooing Tree Beetle Juice Pinot Noir 2008, Wooing Tree Blondie 2009.
Trophy winners will be announced at a presentation dinner on Saturday 20th March 2010.

18 February 2010

Quartz Reef winemaker Rudi Bauer is the first kiwi winemaker to be in the running for what has been dubbed the Oscars of the wine world - the prestigious Der Feinschmecker Wine Awards. Only six winemakers from around the world will be in Germany next month to see who will be International Winemaker of the Year. The competition is the wine world's equivalent of the Oscar ceremony.
Quartz Reef applies the proven winemaking talents of Austrian-born Rudi Bauer, who continues to enjoy & explore the Pinot Noir's many dimensions, and the convergence of the old and the new wine worlds.
Wines produced from the Cromwell winery, Central Otago, include pinot noir, pinot gris and Methode Traditionelle.

3 December 2009:
Lowburn Ferry Pinot Noir 2008 has won a coveted Top 100 Award in addition to a Blue-Gold at one of the world's most exceptional wine shows.

The Sydney International Wine Competition is unique among international wine shows in that the wines are first judged on wine quality before being judged alongside food. Only wines that score high enough to be awarded a Gold Medal in each judging qualify for the unique Blue-Gold (or double Gold) Medal. The 100 wines which score the highest number of aggregate points in both judgings are then given The Top 100 Wine Award. Trophy winners from the Sydney International Wine Competition 2010 will be announced in February.
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