PROVIDORE PINOT NOIR 2017

Winery notes (2017 Vintage)
"Deep purple with purple hues. Deeply fragrant showing blackberry, blackcurrant, violets, chocolate, clove spiciness, dried herb and a touch of tobacco. Dry with sweet ripe black cherry, dark plums, boysenberry, blackberry, leather and spice. Medium bodied and silky. Layers of complexity with concentrated fine-grained tannins and long blackberry finish.

This Pinot Noir comes from the Queensbury vineyard. 100% Abel clone and from a single ferment, selected as the very best of what our 2017 vintage had to offer. The fruit was carefully hand harvested, destemmed without crushing to an open top fermenter. The skins were plunged daily pre-and post-fermentation, and twice daily during the peak of fermentation. Fermentation temperature peaked at 30°C and was completed in eleven days. Total maceration time was 21 days. The wine was aged in a stainless steel tank followed by aging in French oak barriques."

Rated Outstanding & 95/100 Cameron Douglas MS, December 2018 (2017 Vintage)
"Beguiling and quite intense as the bouquet captivates the senses. Dark cherry, ripe red plum, savoury and gently spicy with aromas of undergrowth and earthy minerality. Complex and dry on the palate with flavours that reflect the nose with plums and black cherry, savoury spices and abundant fine tannins. Medium+ acidity, complex and lengthy finish. A delight to taste and enjoy – think I’ll have a glass! Drink now and through 2026."

5 Stars & 95/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, December 2018 (2017 Vintage)
"Gorgeously rich and immensely appealing, the bouquet shows lifted aromas of dark plum, spiced cherry, vanilla and violet characters with nuances of cedar and anise. The palate offers terrific weight and concentration, displaying expansive mouthfeel and silky texture. It is gloriously composed and expressed with superb structure and an impressively long engaging finish. At its best: now to 2025."

5 Stars & 19.0-/20 (95) Raymond Chan Reviews, November 2018 (2017 Vintage)
"Full, deep, purple-hued black-red colour, near impenetrable, youthful in appearance. The nose is elegant and fine in proportion with concentrated aromas of savoury dark-red berry fruit along with an amalgam of plum fruit, dark herbs and suggestions of stalk perfumes and complexities. The aromatics build to form a deep core. Medium-full bodied, the palate is elegantly presented with refined and concentrated flavours of ripe, dark-red berry fruit and dark plums along with nuances of dark herbs sand savoury fresh herbs intermingling with stalk suggestion from the Abel clone. The fruit is rich and luscious, and forms a rounded, deep and dense heart, which is supported by plenty of fine-grained, flowery tannins. The acidity is soft and integrated and the wine carries to a soft, smooth, elegant and nuanced finish. This is a rich and plush, concentrated Pinot Noir with ripe dark-red berry and plum fruit with savoury herb elements on a soft, smooth but fine-structured palate. Serve with casseroles and slow-cooked game meat dishes over the next 6-7 years. Selected as the best 2017 ferment, Abel clone fruit from a single Queensberry vineyard, hand-picked, destemmed without crushing and fermented to 14.0% alc., the wine aged in tank followed by aging in French oak barriques. 290 cases made."

94/100 Jamie Goode, WineAnorak.com, Januray 2019 (2017 Vintage)
"This has amazing, pretty floral notes on the nose. There’s a lovely directness and concentration on the palate with some meaty, peppery depth and lovely raspberry and black cherry fruit. Good structure. Lots and lots of sweet dark fruit here, but impeccable balance. Hints of blackcurrant and clove, too."

4 ½ Stars Yvonne Lorkin, November 2018 (2017 Vintage)
"Winemaker Pete Bartle upsticked from his native Hawke’s Bay in 2001 for the bright lights of Central Otago and it’s been veni, vidi, vici for him ever since. Now one of the region’s most highly awarded winemakers, Pete’s decided that since he’s earned access to some of the best vineyards in ‘Central’, he’d have a crack at producing his own label. So right now would you please pour it into a glass and wonder at how gorgeous the colour is!  This, his flagship pinot, is saturated with dark boysenberry and cherry, it’s sprinkled with cocoa dust and all manner of exotic spices.  It’s smooth, earthy, happiy hinting at sarsparilla and pomegranate, so velvety and vibrant – I love it!"

91/100 Rebecca Gibb MW, Decanter, January 2019 (2017 Vintage)
"This is Pete Bartle's personal project – he's better known as winemaker at contract facility, VinPro. It's an intense pink-purple hue, with a fragrant nose that's all brambles, blackcurrants and violets. It has a ripe and silky palate with a berry coulis-like essence. The tannins are well handled but the cooler vintage is apparent in its grippy line. Really delicious, even at this early stage."