Luna Estate Pinot Noir 2016 (New Zealand) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is a lovely Pinot Noir from New Zealand. This red wine is a new arrival to the LCBO that was featured as part of the theme on "What's New, New Zealand?" from the May 1st LCBO VINTAGES Release.

Luna Estate is a family owned vineyard located in Martinborough, one of the three main sub-regions of the Wairarapa wine region in the southern end of North Island. They have two parcels of land with two distinct terroirs that they use to create their range of wines. Their main philosophy is to work very hard to do as little as possible. The passionate, dedicated team tends the vineyards, hand picks and carefully selects only the best fruit, and then minimally handles the grapes at the winery to preserve the purity and integrity of the fruit.

Although the human touch at Luna Estate is ever present, the land is at the heart of the winery. Sustainable and organic principals and practices drive the farming processes across both of their thriving vineyards, thereby eliminating the need for harmful herbicides and pesticides within their ecosystems as cleaner farming is good for all. By respecting and nurturing the land, the rewards will always be seen in the wines that are crafted using modern technology and traditional winemaking techniques.

This lovely Pinot Noir is crafted from fruit grown on both of their vineyards - Puruatanga Road (Eclipse) and Dry River Road (Blue Rock). With its ideal climate and ancient rocky riverbed, winemaking in the area where the Eclipse Vineyard resides began taking shape in 1970's, with Luna Estate planting their first Pinot Noir here in 1992. The Blue Rock Vineyard is located approximately 12 km south of Martinborough on Dry River Road, on a north-facing elevated hillside with silty clay loam soils interspersed with ancient marine sediment. Vines were first planted at Blue Rock in 1986. This Pinot Noir was fermented in open topped fermenters, gently plunged by hand, then pressed to tank, followed by ageing in mostly used French oak barrels with lower toast levels for 12 months prior to bottling. The 2016 vintage was not too hot, nor too cold, and considered a bit of a 'goldilocks' vintage. Let's see how this Pinot is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

LUNA ESTATE PINOT NOIR 2016 - Sustainable, Martinborough, North Island, New Zealand (#17544) (XD) - $26.95
Screw cap. Lovely, elegant, intense, and well-balanced aromas of raspberry, red and black cherry, and strawberry with subtle sweet spice, floral and dried cherry notes adding further complexity. The medium+ bodied palate has very good fruit concentration and flavours of raspberry-cran-cherry, mineral, earth, and touches of dried floral, and herbal notes. It has very good acidity, while the lightly structured tannins provide a pleasant grip. Nicely balanced throughout with mineral and cherry notes lingering on the long finish. Enjoy this highly recommended buy over the next 3-4 years! Score: 91 pts

Other lovely wines from Luna Estate can be ordered through their Agent - Noble Estates Wines & Spirits.