MAUDE POISON CREEK PINOT NOIR 2019

This vineyard is located in the Queensberry sub-region near Luggat at the head of Lake Dunstan. The gravelly soils give the wine a mineral character which winemaker Sarah-Kate described as ‘blackberry on a dusty road’. Sinewy and fine and a wine that seems to be a bit of a sleeper to watch develop over a few years in the bottle.

Winery notes (2019 Vintage)
"From the Poison Creek Vineyard in Queensberry / 280m elevation / planted in 2003.  The name refers to the pure mountain stream that provides the water vital to the growth of this vineyard planted on an ancient and very free draining river terrace.  Clone 5 / 36% whole cluster / 23 days maceration – perhaps the most refined of the 4 single vineyard Pinot Noirs, inky, blackcurrant vine and violet aromas – a sinewy and structural frame with remarkable line and length."

5 Stars Michael Cooper (2019 Vintage)
"The very ageworthy 2019 vintage is a single-vineyard red, grown at Queensberry, in the Cromwell Basin, and matured in French oak casks (30 per cent new). Full, bright ruby, it is a youthful, savoury wine, full-bodied, with strong, ripe fruit flavours, seasoned with nutty oak, good complexity and obvious potential for cellaring. Best drinking 2023+."

94/100 James Suckling (2019 Vintage)
"Aromas of cherries, raspberries, smoke and spice box. It’s medium-to full-bodied with fresh acidity. Layered and textured with fruity character on the palate. Vibrant and succulent finish. Drinkable now, but another year or two of bottle age will soften it."

Reviews for previous vintages below…

95/100 Cameron Douglas MS, August 2020 (2017 Vintage)
"A wonderful purity and completeness in the bouquet- floral, fruity, varietal and seductive. Aromas and flavours of purple roses and ripe cherry, sweet raspberry and a hint of black currant and plum. There’s an earthy mineral quality and sweet oak and brown spice scents. There’s a juicy salivating quality on the palate with a polished yet youthful satin textured acidity and fine tannin combination. Flavours constantly reflect the nose. A delicious wine with a velvet mouth feel, freshness, complexity and length. A wine easily enjoyed today, but also worthy of your cellar drinking best from late 2021 through 2026."

4 Stars Cuisine Pinot Noir Tasting, April 2020 (2017 Vintage)
"Elegant and supple with strawberry-like sweet-fruited qualities providing the perfect platform to seduce the taste buds. The palate is full of bright generous red fruits with a superb plateau of chalky acidity driving this wine on and on. Succulent and crunchy."