AKARUA RUA PINOT NOIR 2020

Gold Medal & 95/100 – New World Wine Awards 2021

No need for introductions here as the Rua Central Otago Pinot is always one of our biggest selling and much loved wines. The 2020 vintage sees the good form continue. The wine making team at Akarua have been well recognised for the ability to make impressive Pinot Noir and at this price point you would do well to find better. Reliable and just plain delicious!

Winery notes (2020 Vintage)
"An abundance of bright red fruits, and lifted floral aromas, with a touch of savouriness. This Central Otago Pinot Noir is lavishly layered with sweet, ripe, red berries, underpinned with savoury characters and a touch of spice. Supple tannins flow softly across the palate. These are balanced by the wines acidity, leading to a long fruit driven finish."

Rated Excellent & 93/100 Cameron Douglas MS, April 2021 (2020 Vintage)
"Aromas of plump, ripe red cherries, dark roses, brown baking spices and red currant. Mild French oak scents of vanilla and bacon, a whisper of clove and toasted barrel. Fleshy red berry fruit centric flavours on the palate with cherries and red apple, raspberry and plum. Moderate tannin presence with a firm youthful texture, medium+ acidity and fruit flavours that mirror the nose. Delicious, fresh, youthful and tasty example. A great by the glass option in restaurants and well suited to a variety of cuisines. Best drinking from 2021 through 2025+."

5 Stars & 93/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, March 2021 (2020 Vintage)
"Fabulously fruited and sweetly aromatic, the bouquet shows dark plum, ripe cherry, floral and subtle spice characters, leading to a beautifully rounded palate offering succulent fruit flavours together with fine texture and silky tannins, making it instantly appealing. At its best: now to 2025."

Reviews for previous vintages below…

89/100 Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, April 2019 (2018 Vintage)
"The entry-level pinot noir from this top Central Otago producer offers predictably good value, with its pretty floral and cherry flavours and gentle texture. A charming wine in a drink-me-up style." 

16/20 JancisRobinson.com (2018 Vintage)
"Light crimson. Juicy dark-red fruits, almost more beaujolais cru than Pinot! Light, finely textured and rather elegant. Unforced and very fresh on the finish."

95/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review, November 2018 (2017 Vintage)
"The colour is deep (for a pinot), bright and the bouquet very fragrant with dark cherry and spice aromas tumbling out of the glass. The wine has all the depth and succulence that has come to be synonymous with Central Otago pinot, but without any heaviness from alcohol, excessive oak or clumsy tannins. It’s a fine, almost ethereal wine, not overbuilt in any way, and utterly delicious to drink now… A cracker of a pinot!"

4 Stars Michael Cooper (2017 Vintage)
"For a third-tier label, known for its 'vivaciousness and soft, silky tannins', this regional blend can be very seductive. Matured for eight months in French oak casks (10 per cent new), the deep ruby 2017 vintage is floral, with strong, fresh plum and cherry flavours, rich and smooth. Best drinking 2019-20."

90/100 Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, June 2018 (2017 Vintage)
"Quite peppery, cherry, red fruits, spice and peat. Some tangy tomato flavour here, spice, milky tannin, a bit vegetal in some respects, but does have a lightness about it which is considered. Tannin and spice closes it out, with a sappy aftertaste."