Wairarapa Pinot Noir Ranks among the World’s best
Gladstone Vineyard, a small but growing family business based in the Wairarapa, with an established reputation as a quality boutique wine producer, strikes gold with its 2008 pinot noir.
Gladstone Vineyard’s Pinot Noir has scooped gold for a fifth consecutive year, collecting its latest accolade from one of the most prestigious and influential independent wine competitions, the International Wine Challenge in London.
Owner and Chief Winemaker Christine Kernohan said she was thrilled to receive recognition for the 2008 Gladstone Vineyard Pinot Noir at such a well regarded competition.
“But we’re even more elated that this award cements Gladstone Vineyard’s record for consistently producing Pinot Noir at the top level. It’s proof – if we needed it – that Wairarapa Pinot Noir ranks among the world’s best.” Christine Kernohan said this year’s harvest promised much for an unabated record.
“After a cool summer, autumn was warm and benign and let the fruit ripen nicely. The weather was magnificent during harvest, enabling us to pick when we wanted to optimise fruit flavours and ripeness. The longer, cooler ripening period encourages good flavour development in the grapes at lower potential alcohol levels, so we are optimistic for very good quality wines from 2010.”
The judges described
Gladstone Vineyard’s Pinot Noir 2008 as “Lovely, smoky bacon and vegetal character. Soft, quivering mid palate. Lots of fruit delivery and lovely tannins. Excellent expression of Pinot.”
The
International Wine Challenge is a renowned international wine contest, which takes place annually in London. With more than 10,000 entries, it is the biggest blind tasting in the world.
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