Escaroth Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

2021 Escaroth Pinot Blank Canvas Wines Marlborough NZ

$60.00 NZD

PDF Tasting Sheet

Vineyard: Escaroth Vineyard
Subregion: Taylor Pass | Southern Valleys
Region: Marlborough
Vintage: 2021
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 Certified (AMW) | Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand Certified (SWNZ)
Vegan | Vegetarian

Escaroth is a site that truly reflects vintage variation, with 2021 for us being close to if not the very definition of Pinot Noir perfection. It has a beguiling, complex perfume that treads both red and blue fruit and an enchanting spice, game and earthy savouriness. The very low-yielding year (3.3 tonnes/ha) coupled with the dry-farmed nature of the site has resulted in incredible concentration and intensity. A proportion of whole-bunch is used to ensure balanced extraction and lifted aromatics. The result is a very complex, savoury Pinot Noir with a structured yet elegant tannin framework.

Hand-harvested on 18 March 2021, 50% of the parcel was tipped in as whole clusters into an open-top fermenter while the remainder was destemmed and crushed over the top.

The fruit was kept cool until wild yeast began fermentation after five days. The ferment was closely tended with daily hand-plunging over 14 days to draw balanced colour, tannin and aromatic lift. The wine was drained and pressed to French oak barriques (35% new).

Maturation took place in barrel over 11 months before a further three months in tank to integrate and naturally settle, and the wine was bottled without fining or filtration on 15 June 2022, retaining clarity, savoury depth and site expression.

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Reviews

5 STARS

"The very youthful 2021 vintage Was hand-harvested from 20-year-old, unirrigated vines on a north-facing clay slope at Taylor Pass, in the Southern Valleys, matured for 11 months in French oak barriques (35 per cent new), and bottled unfined and unfiltered. From an ultra low-cropping harvest (3.3 tonnes/ha), it is deeply coloured, mouthfilling, sweet-fruited and savoury, with highly concentrated cherry, plum and spice flavours, and good tannin backbone. A more 'masculine' style than its Anthem Vineyard stablemate of the same vintage, it should be very long-lived; best drinking 2027+."

- MICHAEL COOPER MA ONZM

95 POINTS

"Seamless pinot noir with a subtle savoury edge and flavours that suggest red fruits/raspberry, vanilla, fresh herbs and spicy French oak. Nicely balanced wine with good cellaring potential and an impressively lengthy finish."

- BOB CAMPBELL MW

96 POINTS - Outstanding

"Immediately complex with a bouquet of depth and intrigue, softness and floral highlights, there’s personality and prettiness then scents of earth and dried clay minerality, red berry fruits and a fine dried herb quality. There is oak too with a seam of baking spices and savoury complexity framing the core aromas. Delicious on the palate with an abundance of fine needle-point tannins, plenty of acidity and a core of red berry fruit flavours - from mangosteen to plum to cherry. Then, a light leather and tea quality with a fine savoury layer. Well made, youthful, delicious now and will be so through 2033+."

- CAMERON DOUGLAS MS

(Blank Canvas Top 50 NZ Wineries)

"Concentrated and plush black fruits that mingle with notes of cola violet, smoke and dried leaves, an opulent pinot noir tempered by a bright freshness."

- Dr. Jo Burzynska | NZ Herald Viva June 2024

17.5 POINTS

"Mid smudgy garnet. Shows the whole-bunch component in a stemmy/sappy freshness (not at all green). There's a floral note but it's wild not domesticated, herbal not headily perfumed. On the palate, this is dry and savoury and avoids the sweetness that is so common in Marlborough Pinot Noir. Not quite starting to show tertiary flavours (eg leafy undergrowth) but there's a sense of the direction this will take. For now the non-sweet fruit is still captivating and controlling the long, fresh finish. Highlights how successful this vineyard is in low-yielding years (as in 2019). Excellent ageing potential, and a great example of the well-judged use of whole bunch. Has all the freshness and purity of the New Zealand climate as well as the complexity and ageing potential of sophisticated winemaking."

- JULIA HARDING MW | JANCISROBINSON.COM

93 POINTS

"The 2021 Pinot Noir Escaroth Vineyard is a fragrant, fruity and fine wine. Capturing juiciness alongside a crunchy freshness, it is finely balanced and elegant. While immediately appealing, this youthful wine shows essence and tension, suggesting this will have a graceful development over the coming 7-10 years and beyond."

- REBECCA GIBB | VINOUS.COM

93 POINTS

"Ripe strawberry aromas with fresh flowers, stems and a slightly ferrous undertone. Full-bodied and layered, with juicy fruit, velvety tannins and a crisp finish. Hints of smoke at the end. A generous and textured pinot. Drink now or hold. Screw cap."