Rockburn Central Otago Pinot Noir

Expressive nose of plum, black cherry and tasty oak. On the palate, deeply fruited, rich mocha, supple and silky, with a long finish. As always, this wine shows classic Rockburn elegance, integrity and balance.

• Winery: Rockburn
  
• Varietal: Pinot Noir
  
• Region: Central Otago, New Zealand
  
• Vintage: 2023
  
• Alcohol: 13.5%
  
• Volume: 750ml
  
• Closure: Screwcap
• Other: Vegan-Friendly, Sustainable Winegrowing
• Food pairing: Chicken & duck; lamb & mild sausage; tuna & salmon; mushroom risotto; mushroom & light-medium red sauces; brie & goats cheese

Winery notes - This vintage yielded beautiful fruit from each of our Parkburn (85%) and Gibbston Back Road (15%) vineyards. We have simply guided gently through to the bottle with minimal handling. We believe a "hands off" approach delivers a pure expression of Central Otago to your glass. Expressive nose of plum, black cherry and tasty oak. A deeply fruited and rich mocha palate, supple and silky with a long finish. As always, the wine shows classic Rockburn elegance, integrity and balance.

This classy, silky smooth red wine makes a great Pinot Noir wine gift for someone special or corporate gift. Buy here in our online liquor store and get delivered direct to your door, we deliver nationwide.

ROCKBURN

Rockburn takes its name from the rugged, rock-strewn, burn-scarred landscape of Central Otago. The region is renowned for its stunning scenery of rugged mountains and picturesque lakes. Rockburn produce premium wines of intense varietal characteristics in Central Otago, the world’s most southerly grape-growing region. Central Otago, at 45 degress south, has a climate similar to Burgundy, France, the great Pinot Noir producing region of the world. All Rockburn wines exhibit strong varietal characteristics, highlighted in the white varieties by crisp acids, which are typical of the region. It has also become apparent that like Burgundy there are distinct ‘appellations’ within Central Otago. One has only to taste a Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir to experience its perfumed nose, typically violets, and earthy, forest floor sensations on the palate. Compare this with a Lowburn/Bannockburn Pinot Noir with its darker colour and fuller, sweeter fruit. For this reason, to fully exploit the potential of the region, it is a distinct advantage to have vineyards in different ‘appellations’.

WINERY

After leasing premises at the industrial McNulty Road site for 10 years, 2016 was the first vintage we completed at Rockburn's new winery in Ripponvale Road in Cromwell. The new semi-rural site comes with stunning-views of the rugged Central Otago landscape and a hectare of land to allow further expansion in the future. Winemaker Malcolm Francis designed the operation of the new winery to best reflect his own philosophies: to treat the fruit (and wine) as gently as possible, with minimum interference and maximum ease of use.

VINEYARDS

Central Otago’s wine industry symbolises success and its continental climate rivals Europe’s best. The region has a long viticultural tradition, and French immigrant Jean Desire Feraud, who pioneered grape-growing and wine production over 100 years ago, left a strong legacy. Today more than 1,000 hectares of grapes flourish in unique growing conditions. The skills of talented winemakers produce quality boutique wines to compete with the country’s finest. The region has a semi-continental climate and experiences greater daily and seasonal extremes of temperature unknown elsewhere in New Zealand. The area’s unique soil types have a marked influence on vine growth, the flavours of the grapes and the resulting wine.

Rockburn vineyards are bounded on the west by mountains on whose seaward slopes are rain forests, which receive 5000mm of rain a year. To the east is a barren, moon-Iike landscape that receives less than 25mm of rain a year. Situated between these extremes are our vineyards that produce not only Pinot Noir of stunning quality but also medal winning Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Rosé and Fumé Blanc. Handpicked grapes from Rockburn'S Parkburn Vineyard in Lowburn and their Gibbston Valley Back Road Vineyard reflect the unique terroir. The resulting wines fully express the complex subtleties available only in New Zealand’s one true continental climate.

MALCOLM REES-FRANCIS (WINEMAKER)

Being born into a South Canterbury sheep-farming family meant Malcolm knew he didn’t want to be a farmer for the rest of his life, so it was off to Otago University to study Microbiology. Four years later Malcolm knew he didn’t want to be a scientist for the rest of his life, but hey winemaking sounds like fun... Seven years in the industry later he discovered his Great-Great-Great-Grandfather was from a winegrowing family in the Azores; and his draw to the world of wine suddenly made a lot of sense. Equally strong was the draw to the dusty tors and burns of Central Otago, where Pinot Noir rules with an iron fist (although it wears a velvet glove). First as Assistant Winemaker at lauded Felton Road, and now as solo Winemaker at Rockburn, Malcolm continues a tradition of excellence, with the occasional break for rocking out in the barrel hall.

• 95/100 Points & 5 Stars - Sam Kim, Wine Orbit (2022 vintage)
• 94/100 Points & 5 Stars - Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Wine Reviews (2022 vintage)
• 94/100 Points & Excellent - Cameron Douglas (2022 vintage)
• 4.5/5 Stars - Yvonne Larkin (2022 vintage)