RIPPON GAMAY NOIR 2022

Vitality, beauty, complexity… all words to describe this biodynamically grown, naturally made Gamay* from one of the most beautiful vineyards on Earth.

Winery notes (2022 Vintage)
"Here it is: lovingly grown, wild fermented, barrel matured. No nutrients, no filtering or fining of any kind, the barest whisper of sulphur, a full skin, carbonic maceration Gamay Noir*. It’s completely alive and quite beautiful. As much as we note that schist’s compression and foliated structure can issue wines of precision and detail, here schist’s refractive, luminous nature shines a direct, unadulterated light onto Gamay’s own primary fruit and spice."

95/100 Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, May 2024 (2022 Vintage)
"Bright red fruit, red cherry and redcurrant, dried rose perfume, spice, dried herb and juniper, sweet earth, a sort of pastrami meatiness too. In short, complex. It’s medium-bodied, juicy and vibrant, quite some mouth-perfume, it has that earthy/ferrous quality that you get in the best Gamay wines, and gee, those quality of tannin here is superb. Swish them and they grip, but so fine pixel with density and a stony quality. Finish is long and fresh, all redcurrant and spiced strawberry. Terrific. Touch and go for 96 points really."

94/100 Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review, July 2024 (2022 Vintage)
"This is a wine for the history books and a must have for any serious collector of Aotearoa’s vinous legacy. In June 2024, Nick Mills requested a DNA analysis of the ungrafted gamay noir vines which have been growing on Rippon farm for decades. It has now been confirmed that they are, in fact, as-yet-unidentified clones of pinot noir which had disguised themselves incredibly well for 40 years.

Other than the immediate implications at Rippon, it also means that vineyards planted from cuttings of their gamay are also pinot noir. This explains a great deal, as Rippon Gamay (and the clone which was until very recently referred to as the Rippon clone) has always been regarded as unusually serious, age-worthy and structured for gamay. However, it also means that the 2022 which is currently in the market is now a collector’s item as it will never be made again with the same label.

Clear crimson. Brooding, serious nose of smoke, earth, wood and sumac. Something gamy and wild underneath, encasing a core of blackberry fruit. Equally serious in the mouth with grippy, enveloping tannins, coffee grounds and cocoa nib competing with plum and blackberry on the fullsome and weighty palate. Sinewy, introverted and one for the cellar."