A full bodied, savoury Pinot Noir with appealing layers of red fruit flavours, which  drinks well now and can age superbly for the next four to five years. This is smooth, savoury and complex in flavour with layers of red fruit, tangy freshness from bold acidity that is held in balance by weight and texture. 

Beautiful Martinborough Pinot Noir with hints of spice and savoury earthy flavours in a wine with structure and a long finish. 

This Pinot Noir was made from the superlative 2020 vintage from the vineyard now known as Dublin Street, very near to Martinborough village. 

Dice is a New Zealand first - a wine with a vintage which is high quality, fun and funky in a 2-litre box, which puts a new spin on the well known theme of convenience because this wine is all about quality, no holds barred. A blend of Pinot Noir grapes from several vineyards in Bannockburn is used to create this superlative, deliciously good Pinot Noir with its bright bold cherries and ripe fruit flavours underpinned by a medium body and smooth texture in a wine with a long finish. 

Great Central Otago Pinot Noir from the most experienced viticulturist-winemaker team, brothers James and Matt Dicey. This pair have produced this wine with a blend of grapes grown on the Inlet Vineyard (60%) and Black Rabbit Vineyard (40%).

The wine is fleshy and full bodied with bright fresh fruit flavour to the forefront of each succulent sip; indigenous yeast fermentation took place with 2% whole clusters, 98% destemmed and 23 days on skins followed by ageing of 12 months in barrel, 21% new oak. 

The wine contains 14.3% ABV and was bottled unfined but filtered. 

The new Dicey Wine brand is the brainchild of the well experienced Dicey brothers, Matt and James, whose parents were among the pioneers of viticulture and winemaking in Bannockburn, Central Otago, when they co-founded Mt Difficulty Wines. 

Evocative by name and by nature; a wine with great structure thanks to 10% whole bunch fermentation adding depth to the smooth, deliciously savoury flavours. Black Rabbit Vineyard is made from grapevines grown on soils that are 400 million years old on a north facing site that was planted in 2002 at an elevation of 250 to 315 metres above sea level.

The high temperature variation between day and night lends the grapes an elongated window of ripening, which results in savoury notes, a full body and complex flavours of black cherries, a hint of cedar and savoury oak with smooth dark plum aromas and a smooth, long finish. 

The grapes were fermented with wild yeasts and given 21 days on skins and maturation in oak for a year prior to being bottled, unfixed. 

If dark and broody with loads of black cherry and dried herb aromas sounds like a wine you'd love to drink, buy this beautiful Pinot Noir from the Inlet Vineyard in Bannockburn, Central Otago. 

This 5.25 hectare site is situated 225 to 245 metres above sea level where the grapes' growing season is extended thanks to the elevation, which provides cool nights as a foil to the hot days here. 

Flavours of structured dark fruit combine with firm tannins and a long life ahead.

The wine was aged in French oak and bottled unfined.

Doctors Flat Pinot Noir is a full bodied, dark and age worthy take on Central Otago Pinot Noir by winemaker Steve Davies, who used 22% whole bunch fermentation in this wine, which is made entirely from his three hectare vineyard in Bannockburn, Central Otago, where schist sub soils, clay and fine silt all provide Pinot Noirs with depth and weight. This full bodied, dark Pinot Noir was made from three Dijon clones of Pinot; 115, 777 and 114 and aged for 12 months in French oak, 24% new.

Drinks well now and can definitely age for at least five to six years, and then some...

Marlborough PInot Noir from certified organic, hand picked grapes given wild yeast fermentation which results in a complex, smooth and savoury tinged wine with impressively smooth mouthfeel and a long finish. The wine aged for 18 months in French oak, 30% new, This wine is complex when youthful but also has great aging potential of up to 10 years, potentially longer. This is a stunner from an extremely experienced winemaking team. Certified organic with BioGro NZ.

Biodynamic Pinot Noir from the Pisa Range in Central Otago. This is Burgundy meets Otago in style, with dark cherries and herbal spice notes on the nose and a medium palate of further dark cherries, licorice spice and nutty oak elements. Acid, tannins and fruit all in balance and delivered in a lush velvet mouthful.

Pair with duck, pork beef and lamb over the next four years.

Dry River Wines was one of the first four vineyards and wineries in Martinborough and Pinot Noir is the most important grape there today, representing the majority of vines planted but a mere third of the winery's annual production. 

The winery was founded by scientist Dr Neil McCallum, who later sold it and the winemaking for this wine was by Wilco Lam and Sam Rouse, who are refining the bold powerful style of Pinot Noirs made at Dry River to produce an altogether more elegant, refreshing and medium bodied expression of this great French grape variety.

Smooth earthy flavours intermingle with dark cherry flavours in this new Pinot Noir which is made with grapes grown on a well established, older vineyard site which has a new lease of life, in the centre of Martinborough. The 3.5 hectare vineyard was established by the Brodies who sold it to Eva and Ross Mackay in 2018. The new name is Dublin Street Wines, the first vintage being from the high quality 2019 vintage followed by the great 2020 one. Both years were beautifully high quality ones for wine with dry settled weather, which produced great quality grapes that translated into very good wines. 

The vineyard is entirely devoted to Pinot Noir and planted with five different clonal variations (114, 115, 667, 777 and 5). 

The aim of the game now is to reduce oak use in the wines, replacing it with whole bunch and wild yeast fermentations; two winemaking tools that can accentuate structure and savoury flavour aspects, without dominating. 

Champion Pinot Noir at the 2023 New Zealand International Wine Show - a big win for a small producer on Dublin Street in Martinborough, which is the new brand for the vineyard formerly known as Brodie Estate. 

This is a deep ruby hued Pinot Noir with complex layers of flavour of red fruit, hazelnuts, spice and a hint of cedar. Youthful and layered, it will age well, if you have the willpower. 

This is an outstanding wine and represents great value for money. 

Dublin Street has a new lease of life...

Eva and Ross Mackay own Dublin Street Wines in Martinborough village and have breathed new life into this old vineyard.

Eva and Ross were living in Australia prior to moving to Martinborough in 2019, making their first Pinot Noir in 2019 with a following wine in 2020. These two warm, dry, high quality vintages have been a positive start to their experience in Martinborough and it has been a steep learning curve for the couple, who are both former lawyers.

What the  critics say...

"Medium dark red with purple tint. Subtle red fruits, hazelnut, spice and oak notes on the nose. The palate is lovely, full and sweet fruited. Gentle yet pleasingly rich and elegant."

96/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

Kiwa is a beautiful medium bodied, super floral expression of Martinborough Pinot Noir and the 2020 new release is an outstanding wine for drinking now and for cellaring. It's made from one of the oldest vineyards in Martinborough and expresses exotic spicy aromas with a soft, sensuous mouthfeel. This vintage of Kiwa was matured for 16 months in French oak, 31% new, then bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Kiwa comes from the Cleland Vineyard in Cambridge Road, Martinborough.

Grapes were fermented using indigenous yeast in traditional wooden cuvees, hand plunged every 12 hours, with a total vat time of 21 days. The finished wine was matured for 18 months in French oak barriques, 40% new. It was fined to protect the flavours and aid brightness in the glass but the wine was bottled without filtration, promoting soft mouth feel and texture. This is an outstanding example of classic Pinot Noir. It will continue to develop for up to 10 years and is a great match with game food and savoury, earthy flavours, such as mushrooms. 

Kupe is made as a cherry pick of the best grapes grown on Escarpment's 18 hectare home block first planted in 1999 on Te Muna Road. The alluvial gravels on the Martinborough Terrace provide a distinctive character that sets a benchmark for New Zealand Pinot Noir.
Near perfect growing conditions led to exceptional fruit that was handled with great care to help retain balance and elegance. 100% Abel clone picked over two days; the fruit was fermented in open top fermenters using indigenous yeast. They were hand plunged once daily for a total vat time of 25 days.
After pressing the wine was aged in 35% new French oak barriques for 16 months, creating a wine with ripe flavours and soft tannins. Bottled without fining or filtration, promoting soft mouth feel and balance, showing all the hallmarks of a grand young Pinot Noir on release, July 2022. Perfumed red and black fruits show deep red cherry, red currant, raspberry confit and ripe plum. It shows lifted spice and game together with floral notes of perfumed spring flowers and underlying dried porcini mushrooms. A firm tannin profile rounds out the opulent fruit profile to combine excellent texture and reward patience for cellaring up to 15 years.

History of The Escarpment Vineyard

Larry McKenna was one of the first winemakers in Martinborough and has had a pivotal role in pioneering Pinot Noir in New Zealand. He was born and bred in Australia and began winemaking in the Wairarapa region at Martinborough Vineyards in the early days of modern New Zealand wine. In 1999 he founded The Escarpment Vineyard on Te Muna Road, a dramatically beautiful valley which is nine kilometres east of the Martinborough township. 

The Escarpment Vineyard was purchased by Torbreck Wines in South Australia in 2018 and Larry remains at the helm with winemaker Tim Bourne. 

Top wines

The Escarpment Vineyard Pinot Noirs are highly collectible wines, especially the four top tier, single vineyard editions, the pinnacle of which is Kupe - named after Nga Waka-o-Kupe, which is three flat topped hills on the Aorangi Ranges. These distinctive hills resemble upturned canoes, the Maori name for which is kupe, hence the name.