Dry River Pinot Noir 2014

Scores

98 / 100

"An intense, velvety Pinot Noir, with strong sweet cherry, Oriental spices, plum, violet and nutty oak flavours. A powerful wine in a style that often attracts criticism for being too big and lacking varietal identity, but you only need to taste this wine after a decade in bottle to begin to appreciate its wonderful potential and true varietal character. Deliciously approachable now but much better later. 14 JAN 2016"
- Bob Campbell MW

96 / 100

"Very deep, dark, youthful red/purple, looking more like shiraz than pinot! The aroma is dank, very stinky, and not at all pinoid or showing any primary fruit or charm. There's a kind of rank, green pea-like vegetable odour, which is obviously sulfide-related. The palate is big, bold and fairly high in tannin, which tends to be masking the flavour complexity at this point. Age will surely help, but at present it's a bit closed-up. The concentration is undisputable. It's a mystery, but I'd like to see it again in a couple of years. Ignore the nose, and it's a terrific wine. The concentration is very typical of this maker 02 DEC 2016"
- Huon Hooke

95 / 100

"Wilco Lam is the chief winemaker and shifting the dial just a touch at Dry River. Dry River is firmly in the cult wine spectrum, even beyond the shores of Aotearoa. Known for wines of power and extract, this is no disappointment for those seeking full thrust of pinot noir, but there’s more than that here… Huge perfume; bold in dark fruit, char, pepper, briar, more pepper dark cherry. So compelling. I love it. Palate is rippling with quiet power. Dark cherry juice, touch of the pickled cherry, pepper, really firm tannins, extreme length. It’s a wine that socks it to you but also has this elegance. A V12 under the hood of a Rolls Royce. It’s awesome!"
- Mike Bennie

17 / 20

"Warm vintage with gradual ripening. Started picking 13 March, trying to keep the prettiness. pH 3.5, TA 6.5 g/l. Dark crimson. Lovely juiciness spread across the palate. Some slight sweetness on the palate entry and a very sophisticated build. Dry, long finish. Savoury. Relatively forward for a Dry River wine!"
- Jancis Robinson MW

Tasting Notes