WTN: 2005 Peregrine PN, New Zealand

[Jenise]

2005 Peregrine pinot noir, Central Otago, NZ, 14.0%, $30
Dark blackish red color. Nose of black cherries and black licorice with same plus a touch of vanilla and grapeskin tartness. Fuller figured, polished and modern in style but a tad too extracted to get any huge compliments from me or most of the people on this board, though the extraction's balanced by relatively low acidity which makes it pleasantly lush. A well above average wine, just not what I love about pinot.

Fuller figured, polished and modern in style but a tad too extracted

Sounds like you are describing the wife of a friend of mine....

Sorry, (I was just falcon around about the Peregrine). Have you found any PN you do like from NZ, and if so, is the stuff you like the most closer to the California or the French idiom?

[Jenise]

Fuller figured, polished and modern in style but a tad too extracted

Sounds like you are describing the wife of a friend of mine....

Sorry, (I was just falcon around about the Peregrine). Have you found any PN you do like from NZ, and if so, is the stuff you like the most closer to the California or the French idiom?

I've liked quite a few and even loved several. Good question re French vs. California (or Oregon, which you didn't mention but which definitely deserves to be a third player here). I haven't had many or maybe even any that I recall thinking were particularly Burgundian. At least, not of late. As to California or Oregon, HMMMMMMMMMMMMM. This is a dangerous generality, but California pinots are usually all about cherries, cola, cherry cough drops, tomato skin and pie spice, Oregon pinots are plums and violets, and the New Zealand pinots I've been sampling have been raspberry and musky wood spice, in particular the Central Otagos. That this Peregrine delivered big on the black cherries, then, was a surprise. Another generality: based on all the New Zealand pinots I've had so far, I probably like the Martinboroughs best. When they're great, they're probably similar to the more Burgundian Californians, like Arcadian or Williams Selyam.

Another generality: based on all the New Zealand pinots I've had so far, I probably like the Martinboroughs best. When they're great, they're probably similar to the more Burgundian Californians, like Arcadian or Williams Selyam.

Jenise,
I haven't tasted NZ PN widely, but I am also in the Martinborough camp. Whether they steer closer to CA or OR would depend on which producers you are looking at, I'd suspect, but they definitely have more of a New World character and don't seem at all like Burgundy to me. One thing I found during my visit in '01 was that most of the Pinot Noir I tried there had a very atypical purple color and was quite sappy/pine resinous on the nose. A friend who was touring with me (Bill knows him) with much more experience tasting Burgundy said that they reminded him of very young vines, which made a lot of sense given the youth of the NZ wine industry.

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

Another generality: based on all the New Zealand pinots I've had so far, I probably like the Martinboroughs best. When they're great, they're probably similar to the more Burgundian Californians, like Arcadian or Williams Selyam.

Jenise,
I haven't tasted NZ PN widely, but I am also in the Martinborough camp. Whether they steer closer to CA or OR would depend on which producers you are looking at, I'd suspect, but they definitely have more of a New World character and don't seem at all like Burgundy to me. One thing I found during my visit in '01 was that most of the Pinot Noir I tried there had a very atypical purple color and was quite sappy/pine resinous on the nose. A friend who was touring with me (Bill knows him) with much more experience tasting Burgundy said that they reminded him of very young vines, which made a lot of sense given the youth of the NZ wine industry.

Mark Lipton

Pine! I was flailing about trying to think of the right descriptor--and I knew I knew it--for what I ended up lamely calling a touch of dill in this wine, but pine resin is in fact what I was looking for. Interesting comment re the young vines--last week I found myself wondering what kind of vine age the wines we were tasting had--something there made me think "young vine" too. Probably the Amisfield.

An addendum to my tasting note above: the Peregrine's probably at it's best right now and not a cellar candidate. I didn't detect ageable stuffing here.

Mmmm. When I tasted this wine in August 2006, I thought it may be even better in the long term than the multi-gold medal and trophy winning 2004. Well I haven't tasted it for almost two years and now, looking at your notes, I'll have to admit that perhaps I was wrong.

Two years ago I didn't get any pine notes. I did get some attractive (to me) anise spice, though.

My August 2006 note, FYI
"Vibrant and rich in colour with a purple/violet edge. Expressive, smoky, savoury aromas are flushed with liqueur cherry and chocolate and fleshy, concentrated, mouthfilling flavours are crammed with black and purple fruit with a touch of anise, a hint of earth, seductive velvety tannins and a long, savoury aftertaste. A very pleasing and satisfying drop."

Cheers,
Sue

[Jenise]

Mmmm. When I tasted this wine in August 2006, I thought it may be even better in the long term than the multi-gold medal and trophy winning 2004. Well I haven't tasted it for almost two years and now, looking at your notes, I'll have to admit that perhaps I was wrong.

Two years ago I didn't get any pine notes. I did get some attractive (to me) anise spice, though.

My August 2006 note, FYI
"Vibrant and rich in colour with a purple/violet edge. Expressive, smoky, savoury aromas are flushed with liqueur cherry and chocolate and fleshy, concentrated, mouthfilling flavours are crammed with black and purple fruit with a touch of anise, a hint of earth, seductive velvety tannins and a long, savoury aftertaste. A very pleasing and satisfying drop."

Cheers,
Sue

I can see in your note where the wine we had came from--and it's still a very nice wine. I just don't see it improving from here. Just now checked Cellar Tracker to see if there was any input from other tasters and found this note from one "salil" who gave it 89 points last August and said: Dark red/purple hue in the glass with a lovely nose of black cherries, vanilla, red berries, spice and herbs. In the mouth it's rich and lush with sweet red fruits and herbal flavours. Fairly low in acidity with soft tannins and a medium length finish. Day 2 - didn't taste anywhere near as good as on day 1, with the fruit mainly showing and a jammy, highly extracted mouthfeel with some heat showing on the finish. Lacked subtlety or elegance. Much better just popped and poured.

Might have been in a sophomore slump on day 2, but his/her conclusions are remarkably consistent with mine.