Central Otago is renowned for its stunning scenery of rugged mountains and picturesque lakes. Rockburn is bounded on the west by mountains whose seaward slopes are covered by rain forest, to the east is a barren, moon Iike landscape that receives less than 25mm of rain a year. Situated between these extremes, Rockburn's vines yield a stunning wine, one has only to taste a Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir to be completely won over by its elegantly perfumed nose, lifted violet fragrances and earthy, forest floor sensations on the rich, generous palate.

A 19th century grazier with a sheep station overrun by rabbits, Mr. MacGregor tried unsuccessfully to reduce the population by catching them and turning them into pies. The locals took up the challenge but the plague continued. Eventually MacGregor decided to plant vines and make a decent Pinot Noir to go with all the pie he was eating. Rabbit Ranch is made to a very soft, fruit forward, low tannin style. Beautifully aromatic, textural with the characteristic Otago richness, clean and endowed with exquisite balance, a wine to be savoured and supped.

Ra Nui stands for Marlborough, the realization of the finest Pinot Noir from a very special terroir. An intense construct, crafted for serious Pinotphiles, Ra Nui reflects choice selection of clone and rootstock, in combination with low yields, sensible oak and rich lees treatments. Grapes are principally sourced from the Ra Nui Summer Valley Vineyard, situated near the town of Blenheim under the lee of Wither Hills. A small, devotedly managed site, planted to Dijon clones 115 and 667, 777 and Abel, yielding low harvests of small berries with concentrated flavours.

Bendigo is a slightly newer viticultural precinct of Central Otago, the largest quartz reef deposit in New Zealand runs directly beneath the vines. Established to industrial mining in 1862, the historic town of Bendigo is gaining new renown, this time for the most cogent and compelling vintages of Central Otago Pinot Noir. Selective pickings, whole bunches and a gentle hand plunge of wild yeast ferments, pressed into French oak barriques for malolactic and age. A generously proportioned and effusive Central Otago Pinot Noir of great texture, substance and complexity.

Central Otago produces the new world's weightiest and most distinctive Pinot Noir. The vinification techniques at Quartz Reef however are very much in keeping with the traditional practices of the old world. Pinot Noir clones 10/5 and 5, 115 and 667, 777 and Abel are all hand picked off a closely planted, steep slope at Bendigo, a small percentage of whole bunches are retained. A week of cold soak and gentle hand plunging of indigenous yeast ferments are followed by maceration and pressing into a selection of seasoned and new French oak barrels for malolactic and maturation.

Prophet's Rock were established in 1999, with a view to finding sites like no other. Rocky Point Vineyard is such a place, planted to some of the steepest blocks in Central Otago, at the rugged southern extremes of Bendigo. The challenging slopes are drenched in the daytime sunshine, as the rough and stony, free draining soils store the invaluable heat, warming the vines overnight. The Pinot Noir ripens earlier on Rocky Point Vineyard, realizing minimal yields of beautifully perfumed, structured yet supple wines which drink brilliantly in their youth.

The Home block at Prophet's Rock hosts a rare mix of soils, schist and quartz clays over a lens of alkaline chalk, all serving to stimulate the auspicious vines. Grapes are all fully destemmed and treated to a minimalist, hands off style of vinification, aimed at permiting the wine to make itself, uninfluenced and unperturbed. A succulent expression of Central Otago at its most exquisite, a jubilee of cherries, mineral and mace, seamless of tannin, graceful and intense. An extremely limited release from a tiny parcel of the most superlative vines, a mere sixty dozen bottles of vintage.

Prophet Rock's Home Vineyard was planted to a north facing terrac, high above the Bendigo Station homestead, to panoramic vistas across river terraces of Cromwell Basin and stoic mountains of Pisa Range. An opportune confluence of soils, aspect and clime translate into harvests of intensely flavoured Pinot Noir. Vinification to a regimen of minimalist handling techniques, a gentle ferment through the action of wild, indigenous yeasts, followed by eighteen months in oak, encourages the wine to make itself and to fulfill the promise of Central Otago's most remarkable terroir.

A joint effort by Prophet Rock's Paul Pujol and Bonnes Mares Musigny maestro François Millet. The most superior parcels of Pinot Noir were selected by Millet from the Prophet's Home Vineyard, a magnificent site on a high elevation, steep glacial terrace at Bendigo. Ferments are plunged only once and moved without any pumps into a sellection of Rémond Allier for a judicious term of maturation. The traditional old world handling techniques meet the excellence of new world fruit, in a pas de deux which defines the sublime elegance of Central Otago Pinot Noir.

Palliser Estate make some of the finest and most consistent New Zealand Pinot Noir, a perennial winner and always a favourite, representing peerless quality every year. The label depicts a conspicuous lighthouse at Pencarrow Heads, situated to the east of Palliser Bay at the entrance to Wellington harbour. Martinborough is well known for making the New Zealand's most elegant and compelling Pinot wines, Palliser's fruit is acknowledged by many of her local peers to be Martinborough's finest.

A sold backbone of Wharekauhau vineyard clones 115, 667, 777 and Abel, assembled with choice parcels East Base and Clouston vineyard clones 667, 777 and Abel. Fourteen months in a selection of seasoned and new French oak barriques, a portion of whole bunches are included in the ferments for complexity. Elegant and refined, its ethereal dark berry fruits, fragrant herbaceousness and bright red florals, yield to a magnificent palate of opaque strawberry complexities, country compote, stalkyness and cherry ripe, winegum and lip pursing frais de bois.

With each passing vintage, Oyster Bay work alongside more established Pinot Noir vines grown to smaller and smaller sites. Each unique block is harvested as a separate parcel and treated individually at each stage of the winemaking. Burgundy clones which can provide ripe flavour and tannins, good colour and structure are selected. Clones 115,667,777 and Abel provide intensity and diversity of flavour, to be aged in a mix of Alliers, Jupilles and Troncais French oak, coopered by renowned artisans Dargaud & Jaegle, Francois Freres and Mercurey.

Enjoying a temperate maritime climate, Oyster Bay's Hawkes Bay vines are warmed by strong clear sunlight during the day and cooled at night by the sea breezes of the Pacific Ocean. This is the idyllic environment for Merlot to grow it's vibrant, fully ripened varietal flavours. Oyster Bay is about elegance and intensity of fruit, a Pinot Noir of freshness, sweet spice and soft tannins. The glorious fruit ripeness provides a burst of rich juicy black plum flavours, whilst a touch of subtle oak contributes complexity, softness and warmth.

The vineyards of Te Ika a Maui yield a quality of Merlot that's world class. Nobilo take the pick of crop from the finest sites in Hawkes Bay, to create a wine that's endowed with generosity of fruit, velvet textural flavours and the most hospitable tannins. The team at Nobilo have put so much effort into formulating the country's finest Merlot, that they have set aside half the company's resources at the state of the art Corner 50 development for the advancement of Merlot as a pure varietal wine.

Nautilus have been focused on delivering nothing but the finest Marlborough Pinot Noir since inaugural release. Fruit is sourced from five special sites, each of which bring their own level of interest and complexity. Clay Hills in the Southern Valleys provides the backbone, harvests from the Awatere and Kaituna, Renwick and Yarrum vineyards, contribute to the structure and add layers of flavour. A tightly wound and regionally articulate Pinot Noir, to match alongside venison or veal, salmon steaks or duck.

The Clay Hills are six unique blocks of varied sloping clay aspects, planted to a ridge which divides Brancott and Omaka Valleys in southern Marlborough. A mixture of stemmed and whole bunch fruit are treated to eighteen days of cold soak and a spontaneous, wild indigenous yeast ferment, pressed and settled into a high proportion of new French oak barriques for eleven months maturation. This very special site sets the benchmark which inspires the dedicated Nautilus vineyard teams to emulate the excellence of Clay Hills Pinot Noir.

The precious Pinot yielding Nanny Goat vines are planted to haggard aspects along Central Otago's austere valley floor. This is a region of climatic extremes, very hot summers, short autumns and bitterly cold days throughout the winter. Soils are rocky and offer poor fertility, growing conditions which are heaven sent for making world class Pinot Noir. The inhospitable climes deliver a harvest of the smallest berries, bursting with flavours, concentrated with intense varietal characters, endowed with stalky tannins and fruit laden acids.

An assemblage of superior clones Pinot Noir, picked off the Mudhouse estate vineyard in the Bendigo precinct of Central Otago. A challenging site to grow fruit, vines are planted to three terraces with slightly differing microclimes, encouraging grapes to achieve an allsort of complexity and tannin profile. A measure of whole bunch inclusion builds texture and infuses layers of flavour, a soundly structured and well proportioned Pinot Noir with the palate weight and depth of fruit to accompany traditional roast with root vegetables and red wine Jus.

Hand crafted from choice parcels of fruit grown to closely husbanded vines on the family owned Mount Fishtail property in Wairau Valley. Konrad Hengstler pays particular attention to retaining the barest amount of natural fruit sugar, in a fine balance of the juicy, refreshing acidity. A wonderful anywhere, anytime wine that's clean and crisp, always a classic expression of Marlborough, simply sublime alongside any recipe duckl or a spread of piquantly spiced Asian fare.

A multi award winning Pinot Noir, Roaring Meg is the enthusiastic younger brother to the exalted Mt Difficulty label, a more approachable sibling of opulence and panache. Crafted to a fruit forward style from hand picked vineyards throughout the Cromwell basin, even in its early youth, Roaring Meg is fashioned to exhibit exhilarating spice characters and a concentration of ripe Pinot characters.

Elite single vineyard Pinot Noir, Mt Difficulty reflects the virtue of painfully low yields and uncompromising standards of winemaking. The artisanal commune of dedicated growers have harnessed the once brutal terrains of New Zealand's deep south, to achieve vintages which set the benchmark for all new world wines. Packspur was established 1993 along a track that was used to pack supplies to the goldfields of Cardrona Valley. Three hectares of north facing Pinot Noir clones 5, 6, 115 and Lincoln Mix, were planted to escape the worst of Central Otago's withering winds.

Clones 113, 114 and 115, planted to a site of schist glacial gravels along the banks of Kawarau River, a terroir that's heaven sent for superior vintages Pinot Noir. Grapes are all destemmed, cold soaked and treated to a fortnight of ferments, followed by several days of maceration, rested and racked to barrel for malolactic and sixteen months maturation. Painstakingly hand crafted, its earthy, savoury, sauvage raspberry notes before a background of violet florals, densely sculptured palate with lovely tension over persistent fine grained tannins and very cherry fruit.

Long Gully Vineyard is perched atop the banks of Kawarau River, one of the oldest sites in Bannockburn. A mix of destemmed grapes and whole bunches are treated to days of maceration followed by a week of warm temperature ferments. Batches are punched down for a week, pressed and racked to barrel for malolactic and sixteen months maturation. Dark cherryness and earthy, savoury brown spice over a background of mocha oak. Long Gully Pinot Noir is hand crafted in very limited quantities and only ever released from the finest vintages.

By virtue of their prolific range of single vineyard editions, assembling parcels with the greatest synergy are central to the production of a Mt Difficulty in perfect balance. Fruit is sourced from the south side of Kawarau River at Bannockburn, where different clonal parcels on the same block, which can ripen together, are handled as a unique individual parcel. Exhibiting an amazing weight of fruit on the palate, a powerfully structured Otago Pinot, fleshy and plushly textured, finishing with a lovely extraction of velvet tannin and perfumed cherry plum richness.

Mount Riley is a family owned estate with strong traditional values and a guiding philosophy of being involved at all stages of the winemaking process, from the vineyard to the glass. Always in fine fashion and consistently so, an ambassador of fine Marlborough Pinot Noir to the world, Mount Riley can boast significant accolades at conspicuous wine competitions, from the ANZ Awards to the prestigious London International. Multiple vineyard parcels and clonal material construct a Marlborough Pinot Noir of great character, depth of flavour and exquisite charm.

A fully Certified Organic wine, fashioned from Pinot Noir grown to three Marlborough vineyards which exhibit profound affinity. Momo is Maori for offspring, the consular Pinot wine that's sprung from Marlborough's Seresin Estate. Now all grown up with its own identity and personality, youthful, urbane and well travelled, charming and seriously stylish. Momo loves good food and great conversation, above all, Momo is about enjoyment, the sublime pleasure of good wine.

Ever since establishment in 1851, it has been central to Mission Estate's philosophy, that managing vineyards to holistic old world practices affords the greatest opportunity to yield truly splendid Rhône Valley styled Syrah. A great vineyard remains essential but the health of soil and sanctity of local fauna are integral to harvests of the most exquisite fruit. A beautifully redolent Syrah, perfumed of blackberry, violets and dark plum, tastefully framed by creamy wafers of toasted nutty oak, delicately seasoned by a twist of piquant white pepper and savoury sasafras curl.

From a single elite parcel in the Cromwell basin of Central Otago, a challenging site of gravel clays which encourage the vines to struggle for their nourishment, yielding limited harvests of intensely flavoured Pinot Noir. Grapes are all hand picked and completely destemmed for several days of ferment and a fortnight on skins, followed by a year's age in exclusively French oak. Richly perfumed of cherries and dark festive fruits, its ripe, full bodied palate of forest floor, licorice and stalk, undulates over a lingering length of delicious, gummy tannins.

From the Mission’s Cable Station Road block in Awatere Valley, a gently sloping, free draining site with dry climate, yielding a low crop of small bunches and tiny berries of intense flavour. Fruit is cold soaked for three days and pumped over throughout a fortnight of ferments, pressed and treated to an extended maceration, followed by a judicious term of maturation to achieve a forward drinking, fruit driven Marlborough Pinot Noir style. An abundance of sweet fruit and ripe silky tannins, sound structure and a long, fruit filled finish.

Real new world Syrah, crafted to the old world style of French Trapis pioneers who founded Mission Estate in 1851. Fruit is sourced from the Bridge Pa triangle and warm inland sites, fortuitously sheltered from the prevailing sea breezes, perfect for the Syrah to ripen superbly, infusing fine aromatics and building ripe, supple tannins. A soft, fruit driven palate of superb persistence, fashioned to a medium bodied style of freshness and seamlessness, expressing fully the magnificence of Hawkes Bay Syrah, a profound depth of flavour and generous length.

A plump Merlot with plummy fruit, delicately wooded, and amicably food oriented, the grapes for this wine are sourced from around the premiere Hawkes Bay region, so well recognised for the production of satisfying reds due to the favourably warm and dry climate. Vines here yield crops of the best Merlot due in part to the conditions during flowering and fruit set. Smooth drinking, softly tannined, fruit driven and approachable, Matua Merlot is very pleasant in it's youth, develops exquisite harmonies with ageing, and is excellent with all good faire.

Grown in New Zealand's North Island region of Hawkes Bay, New Zealand's warmest grape growing region. The 2003 vintage was a small harvest of very mature and ripe fruit that exhibited good varietal flavours. The vines had extensive leaf removal in the fruit zone to expose the grapes to sunlight, assisting in developing colour and flavour. A well balanced finish with firm and chewy weight and a medium tannin finish, completes this fine accord of noble red wine grapes.

Main Divide is the mighty range of Southern Alps which form the backbone of Te Wai Pounamu. The highly accomplished Pegasus Bay team work with good local growers to realize harvests of the finest fruit. Pinot Noir is assembled from a handful of choice vineyards planted to unique terroirs, which can speak of the world's most challenging mesoclimes. An artisanal Burgundy style vinification achieves a rich and seductive Pinot wine, endowed with savoury meat and trade spice characters, integrated oak and harmonious tannins.