Akitu A1 Black Label Pinot Noir

"Complex, focussed, intriguing and inviting bouquet. Aromas of place and time, minerality then a core of darker red berries, spices and some toastiness of French Oak, lees and a touch of gun flint. There’s a synergy from the bouquet that can only come from the soil and fruit. Delicious, complex, youthful and taut on the palate. The texture is firm and salivating, flavours offer contrast and a reflection of the vintage and fruit quality. Dried herb and rugged rocky mineral qualities add mouthfeel as well as depth. Delicious, fresh and ready to drink.” Cameron Douglas

• Winery: Akitu
• Varietal: Pinot Noir
• Region: Central Otago, New Zealand
• Vintage: 2019
• Alcohol: 13.7%
• Volume: 750ml
• Closure: Screwcap
• Food pairing: Chicken & duck; lamb & mild sausage; tuna & salmon; mushroom risotto; mushroom & light-medium red sauces; brie & goats cheese

Winery notes - Dark garnet with a crimson edge within a deep plummy hue. The first aroma from this wine gives a hint to the depth and complexity that lies beneath, hidden for now in the glass. Layers of graphite, brown spice and wild herbs sit across dark plummy fruit. Ripe dark cherries, dark rose petal and a hint of sous bois are all coiled very tightly in a compact bundle of aromatic intensity.  This one will take some time to show its true depth and complexity. The palate opens with intense fruit concentration over a core of powerful soft tannin. There are layers of textural phenolics pushing up against fruit plushness which impress and excite. This wine, our 8th vintage of the black label, without doubt shows in its shape and structure that it is unequivocally of the Hawkesbury vineyard. A fine line of acidity suggests a long and exciting evolution. It will start to hit its straps at five years old and continue for at least another five, perhaps much more. 

Akitu, in the Maori language, means the summit, the apex or the highest point. We called our wine that because at 380 metres above sea level we are right up there, right on the grape growing edge, against the alps and in the southern most winemaking region on earth. Here Akitu's entire vineyard is dedicated to Pinot Noir – that’s all thats grown, the very best of the harvest makes Akitu.

The vineyard has been laid out in 6 sections: planted in 2002. Akitu have 45,000 vines in 12 hectares of Pinot Noir, planted across the vineyard according to soil and aspect. Over the years Akitu has watched these 12 different plants settle and begin to express wonderfully diverse characters. They respond to weather conditions and the evolution of each vintage, quite differently and present Akitu with a rich palette of choice come blending time.

• 96/100 Points - Cameron Douglas MS (2019 vintage)
• 95/100 Points - Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak (2019 vintage)
• 95/100 Points - Anne Krebiehl (2019 vintage)
• 95/100 Points - Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak  (2018 vintage)
  
• 93/100 Points - Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous  (2018 vintage)
  
• 92/100 Points - Bob Campbell MW  (2018 vintage)
  
• 5 Stars - Michael Cooper  (2018 vintage)
• 95/100 Points - Decanter (2017 vintage)
  
• 94/100 Points - Cameron Douglas MS (2017 vintage)
  
• 93/100 Points - Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (2017 vintage)