Vineyard: Escaroth Vineyard
Subregion: Taylor Pass
Region: Marlborough 
Vintage: 2020
Soil Type: Low-vigour ancient clays
Clone: Dijon clones 777 and 115
Viticulture: Dry-farmed and Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand Certified (SWNZ)
Growers: Andy and Kyna Laurie

Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW) Certified 

Winemaker's Notes: 

Escaroth Vineyard is a site that truly reflects vintage variation: this year's release simply ticks all the boxes for Pinot Noir fanatics. It has a beguiling, complex perfume that treads both red/blue fruit and an enchanting spice, game and earthy savouriness. The very low-yielding vintage (4.6 t/ha) coupled with the dry-farmed nature of the site has resulted in incredible concentration and intensity.

2020 was the second drought year in a trio (2019 - 2021), all of which demanded the use of whole-bunch to ensure balanced extraction and lifted aromatics. The result is a very complex, savoury Pinot Noir with a structured yet elegant tannin framework. As this wine is bottled without filtration, a small amount of natural sediment may form with time. 

Reviews: 

5 STARS ***** "Already very expressive, the 2020 vintage (5*) was hand-harvested from 19 year-old vines at Taylor Pass, in the Southern Valleys, and matured for a year in French oak barriques. Bright ruby, it is a refined, complex wine, very savoury and supple, with deep, ripe cherry, plum and spice flavours, finely integrated oak, and a silky-textured, very harmonious finish. Best drinking 2025+." Michael Cooper, February 2023

94 Points "Elegant, textural pinot noir with cherry/berry, violet, brambles/grape stems and mixed spice flavours. Supple, high energy wine with latent complexity that needs a little bottle age to reveal. Drinking Window 2023–2031" Bob Campbell MW, December 2022 

94 Points "There’s a unique quality about the bouquet of this wine with a soft floral scents and heirloom red berry fruit fragrances with a fine lightly toasted wood quality and most importantly - a sense of place and time. Youthful and complex. Textures from tannins, wood and acidity touch the palate first with a savoury quality before the flavours of red berries, plums, flowers and red currant. Taut and textured with a youthful energy and drive. Best drinking from mid to late 2024 through 2030+. Keen to try this wine again then." Cameron Douglas MS 

17 Points "Mid ruby with soft and lightly bricky rim. Open and aromatic with a combination of sweet red fruits and a suggestion of herbal stemminess but not excessive, just seems to lift the aroma, some sweet spice and starting to show some development of leathery notes. More spicy than the Settlement, and showing more evolution, but less herbal/stemmy. Lots of fruit sweetness on the palate, too, with a hint of spice and more savoury bottle-aged character. Smooth tannins are a little firmer than in the Settlement. Extremely fresh with depth and length. There's definitely some Marlborough red fruit here but it is moderated by the savoury and spice notes. Right in the middle of the palate, there's a lovely floral moment before the more savoury finish. (JH)" JancisRobinson.com April 2024

2019 Vintage: 

97 Points - Outstanding "A perfumed, complex bouquet with aromas of roses and ripe cherry, a soft raw sugar and baking spices scent with a core of silty soil minerality. Equally complex with a firm yet finely textured mouthfeel, harmonious synergies between fruit, minerality, tannins and acidity. With each taste the complexity expands with flavours of cherry and plum, forest berries and wild flowers. A Grand Cru level wine with a delicious, layered, perfumed, youthful and long. Best drinking from late 2022 through 2030+." Cameron Douglas MS, October 2021

95 Points - "From a dry-farmed vineyard in the Taylor Pass and one of the driest vintages on record. Dense, concentrated wine with floral, cherry, berry and dried herb flavours. A powerful, firmly-structured wine that is built for the long-haul." Bob Campbell MW, November 2021

95 Points - "Saturated with dense, ripe fruit. A little note of reduction, some savoury oak spice and flavours of crushed rosemary and red plum give a compelling multi-layered character. A silken texture with a ripe, powdery tannic grip." Jane Skilton MW | Gourmet Traveller WINE, January 2022

17.5 Points - "Colour is a little lighter and more smudgy than in the Settlement 2019. And there’s much more lifted red-fruit scent and prettiness. The slightly herbal stemmy note shows more than on the Settlement, though it is well moderated to match the fruit, even if there is a hint of capsicum, which some Pinot lovers may not want. Juicy, deliciously stemmy in its fragrance and freshness on the palate, the zippy, fragrant fruit and whole-bunch technique perfectly matched to bring harmony and refreshment. Vibrant, mouth-watering, long. Utterly different from the more powerful Settlement. More like top-notch Hautes-Côtes in build and style. Julia Harding MW | JancisRobinson.com 27/01/22

5 Stars - "The fragrant, silky-textured 2019 vintage (5*) was harvested from ultra low-cropping (3.2 tonnes per hectare), 18 year-old vines at Taylor Pass, in the Southern Valleys. Deep ruby, it is full-bodied, with deep cherry, plum and spice flavours, a herbal twist, fine, supple tannins, and excellent complexity and harmony." Michael Cooper, February 2022 

View the Escaroth Vineyard

View Tasting Notes - 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020