TWO PADDOCKS | Pinot Noir | 2018
pinot noir

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Sam Neill had a dream: to produce some of the greatest wines imaginable. All modesty aside, he decided that there is no place for modesty in his family-owned company, and therefore the resulting wines are so much better than that. Having said all that, they don’t take themselves at all seriously – the seriousness they leave to their very serious wines.

The wine we are going to review today is a living legend from New Zealand – Pinot Noir 2018 by Two Paddocks – a winemaker that is utterly obsessed with pinot noir, organics, quality and authenticity. The domain is made up of four beautiful organic vineyards scattered around Central Otago – the southernmost wine region in New Zealand and possibly the whole wine world. The wine itself is a harmonious blend of different pinot noir grapes sourced from the four organic vineyards: 27% The Fusilier, 22% The Last Chance, 29% The Red Bank and 22% The First Paddock. This pinot noir blend is nothing less than bottled art, as it was designed by the synergy of nature and human passion, with part of the wine aged in old french barriques, while the other part in new oak, both for 10 months. That said, without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
clarity: clear | hazy | cloudy | misty
brightness: dull | hazy | bright | starbright
concentration: translucent | pale | medium | deep | opaque
color: indigo | purple | ruby | garnet | copper
hue: indigo | purple | ruby | garnet | copper

//Sight
stain: light | medium | heavy
viscosity: low | medium | high
gas evidence: yes | no
sediment: yes | no

//Olfactory
outset: clean | faulty [TCA | sulphur | ethyl acetate | geosmin | brett | oxidation | VA]
intensity: delicate | light | moderate | rich | powerful
fruit profile: red fruits | black fruits | blue fruits | berry fruits
__red fruits: sour cherry | sweet cherry | red plum | red currant | cranberry
__black fruits: black cherry | black plum | blackcurrant | blackberry | black raspberry
__blue fruits: blue plum | blueberry | honeyberry | blue huckleberry
__berry fruits: strawberry | raspberry | wild strawberry | goji berry | wolfberry
fruit character: baked | unripe | ripe | overripe | jammy | dried

//Flavor
non fruit: floral | vegetal | herbal | spice | oak | sweet | animal | earth
__floral: orange blossom | roses | peonies | lilac | violet | lavender
__vegetal: dill | bell pepper | capsicum | asparagus | olive
__herbal: eucalyptus | coriander | currant leaf | tomato leaf
__spice: red pepper | black pepper | nutmeg | cloves | anise | rosemary | ginger | mint
__oak: coconut | vanilla | cinnamon | liquorice | tobacco | coffee | chocolate | smoke
__sweet: caramel | toffee | burnt sugar | molasses | menthol | dried figs
__animal: gravy | capocollo | veal| leather | musk | barnyard | horse saddle
__earth (organic): soil dust | turf | forest floor | compost | mushrooms | truffle
__earth (inorganic): limestone | chalk | slate | flint | aspirin | petroleum | varnish
__wood: [old | new | none] / [dried | roasted | charred]
aroma: primary | secondary | tertiary

//Palate
sweetness: bone dry | dry | off dry | sweet | extra sweet
acidity: low | med(-) | medium | med(+) | high
alcohol: low | med(-) | medium | med(+) | high
tannin: low | med(-) | medium | med(+) | high
__grip: fine | ripe | firm | green | rough
texture: creamy | round | lean
body: light | medium | full
balance: bad | poor | fair | good | fine
__dominant: sugar | acidity | alcohol | tannin | none
complexity: simple | moderate | complex

//Taste
fruit profile: red fruits | black fruits | blue fruits
fruit character: baked | unripe | ripe | overripe | jammy | dried
non fruit: floral | vegetal | herbal | spice | oak | sweet | animal | earth
aroma: primary | secondary | tertiary
finish: short | med(-) | medium | med(+) | long
aftertaste: rough | astringent | seedy | appealing | velvety

//Scoring
TWO PADDOCKS | Pinot Noir | 2018
variety: pinot noir
origin: old world | new world
climate: cool | moderate | warm
country: New Zealand
region: Central Otago
rating: 95.0

//Conclusion
maturity: on the rise | in its prime | past its prime | on the decline
verdict: fair | good | fine | great | exceptional

//Prediction
RP rating: 92
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This is definitely an exceptional wine of New Zealand and, with a total of 95.0 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a classic, cool climate pinot noir wine that still on the rise – a wine that will surely benefit from another year or two in the bottle. It is a wine of exceptional quality, one that delivers ripe, fine-grained tannins and very crisp, mouth-watering acidity and, with a little more time in the glass, a plethora of delicate spiciness and mesmerizing savoury-earthy notes that are sought after by the wine connoisseurs. Two Paddocks Pinot Noir is a wine that is about as velvety as any world-class pinot noir can get – elegant, complex and very well structured, mixing elegance with finesse. Enjoy!

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© The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.