Allan Scott 2010 pinot noir

Date tasted: August, 2011

Where: Museum Hotel, Welly

Notes: We are back in NZ (as we passed through immigration this morning, the agent noted that we had ticked the "permanently" response for the intended length of stay, looked up very briefly, then said "cool" as she stamped our passports). As we await the keys to our flat tomorrow, we wandered over to the market for a sunset snack and picked this inexpensive young Marlborough pinot from Allan Scott. One of the great advantages of the highly competitive makers of the "big 4" NZ varietals (pinots, cab blends, chardonnay, savs) is that you can find so many reliably good wines quite cheaply. This little pinot, for about $10 US, will never knock Latour out of your cellar, but it's not intended to. Instead, it ably does the three-stage "dance" of a good young pinot: (1) opening with ruby color and fruity nose, totally smooth right out of the bottle (2) tightening briefly with a bit of acid and astringeny then (3) settling down into ripened fruit and mild tannins.

2006 Tirohana Estate Pinot Noir

Date tasted: August, 2011

Where: MPLS

Notes: We initially encountered this wine during a tour of the Martinborough region in late 2008, whilst living and working in nearby Wellington. We loved this "young" wine then as an embodiment of the Côte d'Or Burgundy style-- simple, generous, mellow and balanced. We shipped a case back on our return and have held the last bottle for three years now in anticipation of our return to New Zealand, this time as permanent residents.We shared this bottle with friends Matt and Beth, who are celebrating their first year in Minneapolis.

The wine, which we remembered as translucent ruby-colored, smelled musty and poured out a deep, opaque purple. No corking here, though (the Kiwis sagely use screw tops), but rather a maturation into a wine that reminded Matt of California Cab and me a bit of good Malbec. The wine opened up nicely over the course of an hour-- with acid up front, followed by tart notes of cherry and earthy cranberry, then finishing with a long, pleasing minerality. I do not know how much longer this wine will hold, but it structure at 5 years is remarkable.