2008 Pinot Noir
Natural ferment
Natural fermentation with wild yeasts from the vineyard gives full expression of the Maori Point terroir.
Tasting Notes
With its rich floral aroma, concentrated cherry and plum flavours, spicy background and well-rounded finish, this is a delicious easy drinking wine. It is bright ruby in colour, softly textured with good fruit weight and tannin structure. Made with a natural wild yeast ferment to add complexity and express the Maori Point terroir.
We are pleased and excited with this wine which eminently expresses the Maori Point terroir, with rich fruits, spicy oak, and a long finish.
Technical Notes
Residual sugar, <1gm/L; pH 3.59; titratable acidity 5.7; alcohol 14.3%. The wine was aged 10 months in French oak barrels, one third new.
Michael Cooper Review (shortly after bottling)
Already delicious, yet offering some cellaring potential, this softly textured red was grown at Tarras and matured in French oak barriques (one-third new.) Ruby-hued, with a floral bouquet, it has very good depth of ripe cherry/plum flavours, gentle tannins and some savoury complexity.
What the wine bloggers say . . . .
"great, raucous and bloody" Anita Pati, Foodepedia
"a terroir-rich Pinot.. still strong at 14% but so smooth is the integration of its ripe, tart berries and soft tannins and oak that I'd never have guessed. . take that as an unbridled enthusiasm for a rich and complex wine. . smoother and plummier than most Pinots" Alexander Velky, Redwine
2006 Pinot Noir has developed well with bottle age and is available now
Tasting Notes
Intensely coloured, rich red with deep purple tones. The nose has floral notes with violets, raspberries and cherries. On the palate, complex fruits intermingle with some toasty oak. Full-bodied, with a smooth mouth-feel and good fruit weight and structure that lasts through to the back palate. The firm tannins typical of this vintage have integrated and softened, balancing the opulent fruit characters.
Technical notes
After crushing and destemming, 10% of the juice was run off to concentrate the skins and futher enhance the tannin structure. The wine was aged for 10 months in French oak casks, one third new. Alcohol 13.5%, pH 3.47, TA 6.0, sugar <1gm/L.
Wine Orbit Review: Maori Point Pinot Noir 2006 
91/100
"A beautifully perfumed nose displaying ripe black cherries and well-integrated spicy oak. The palate is focused with a solid mid-palate and firm tannins balancing the opulent fruit characters. A bold style of Pinot well suited to rich, savoury dishes."
Michael Cooper Review
Developing well with bottle age, this is a mouthfilling, vibrantly fruity wine with full, youthful colour, satisfying depth of firm, cherryish, plummy flavours and savoury, spicy notes adding complexity. Grown at Tarras, it's a tightly structured red, worth cellaring to 2009-10.
- Michael Cooper
Maori Point Pinot Noir Rosé 2008, limited stocks, still available
Grapes from our vineyard block 3, exclusively Pinot Noir clone 10/5, were selected for our 2008 Rosé. 10/5 is the classic Central Otago Pinot Noir clone, characterised by higher acid levels and late ripening. Grapes were left to hang for full ripening and then hand-picked. The fruit was crushed and left with the skins to gain a rich Rosé colour before pressing and fermenting in stainless steel vats.
Tasting notes
An aroma of rose petals, with delicate fruit notes, nectarines and stone fruit on the palate, and lingering fruit and well balanced acid on the finish.
Technical notes
A dry style of Rosé with residual sugar of 6g/L, pH 3.49 and titratable acidity of 7.0g/L. Alcohol 14.2%. Grapes were picked from a single block within the vineyard, and all were the classic Central Otago clone 10/5.
Michael Cooper Review
Maori Point Central Otago Pinot Noir Rosé 2008
Pale pink, with enticing, strawberryish aromas, this is a mouthfilling rosé with strong berry/spice flavours, a hint of apricots, and excellent freshness, harmony and length. A single-vineyard wine, grown at Tarras, it's delicious now.
- Michael Cooper
2010 Pinot Noir Rosé released July 2011
Tasting notes
A saignée Rosé fermented in oak barrels. Lees stirring during fermentation added complexity and a smooth mouth-feel resulting in a deliciously dry aromatic wine with intense fruit flavours. It has an aroma of ripe berry fruit with strawberry notes on the palate and a long crisp finish. Best served lightly chilled.
Technical notes
A dry style of Rosé with residual sugar 5.5g/L, pH 3.20, titratable acidity 5.5g/L, alcohol 14.2%.
Maori Point 2006 Pinot Noir Rosé has now sold out
We have followed the development of this wine in our library stock. It continues to develop with bottle age, tasting even more intense. Our Rosés clearly cellar well and merit being kept.
2008 Pinot Gris was released in October 2008, limited stocks, still available
Tasting notes
A rich dry aromatic Pinot Gris with a lovely fragrance of citrus, spices and Nashi pears. The palate is well structured with generous nectarines, citrus and pears and a crisp mineral finish. The wine was partly fermented in oak barrels to add complexity. Best served lightly chilled to accompany food or as an aperitif.
Technical notes
Residual sugar 2.6g/L, pH 3.45, titratable acidity 5.7g/L, alcohol 14.3%. Approximately 27% spent 3.5 months in older oak.
Michael Cooper Review
Maori Point Central Otago Pinot Gris 2008
Still youthful, this weighty, single-vineyard wine was grown at Tarras and made with a small proportion of barrel fermentation. Pale, it has mouthfilling body, with strong, peachy, spicy flavours woven with fresh acidity and a smooth, finely balanced, long finish. Drink 2009-10.
Bob Campbell
"Pinot Grigio on steroids. . "
2009 Pinot Gris was released in October 2010
Tasting notes
A richly flavoured Gris, crisp, dry, and minerally with an aroma of fresh pears, and on the palate stone fruits and hints of spice, showing good freshness, vigour and length. The wine is a dry style with a good mouth-feel and glycerol notes. Drink now, or cellar for up to 5 years.
Technical notes
residual sugar 2.8 gm/L, pH 3.42, titratable acidity 6.8, alcohol 14.2%.
2010 Pinot Gris released July 2011
Tasting notes
Soft and silky, a rich dry aromatic Pinot Gris fragrant with ripe pears and apples. The palate is well structured with generous white nectarines and peaches and a soft crisp finish. Lees stirring during fermentation added complexity and a smooth mouth-feel.
Technical notes
Residual sugar 7 gm/L, pH 3.45, titratable acidity 7.2, alcohol 14.2%
Maori Point 2007 Pinot Gris has now sold out
John Harris and Marilyn Duxson, 413 Maori Point Road, Tarras Ph 03 428 8842 or Cell 027 243 2725
