About the wine
The flagship from Two Paddocks – an organically grown barrel selection from the family’s properties. In 2015 this wine was produced from all four of the Neill’s Central Otago vineyards. These small sites are high-density planted in a range of clonal material cropped to under 5 Tonne per hectare with most vineyard practices carried out by hand. As in the vineyard, the wine is hand crafted using traditional methods including a 25% whole bunch indigenous fermentation and hand plunging. Maturation is in French barriques for 11 months, using a mix of older and new (25%) barrels.
Tasting Notes
The flagship from Two Paddocks – an organically grown barrel selection from the family’s properties. In 2015 this wine was produced from all four of the Neill’s Central Otago vineyards. These small sites are high-density planted in a range of clonal material cropped to under 5 Tonne per hectare with most vineyard practices carried out by hand. As in the vineyard, the wine is hand crafted using traditional methods including a 25% whole bunch indigenous fermentation and hand plunging. Maturation is in French barriques for 11 months, using a mix of older and new (25%) barrels.
Vintage Comment:
A cool spring in October and into November was followed by warm dry weather over December and a particularly hot and dry January. Flowering was finished by the end of December. Vigour was low and the vines were only green thinned and shoulders removed in the same pass. Wide open bunches meant very little disease pressure was experienced and we started harvest on the 1st April 2015.
Winemakers Notes:
Hand harvested, 75% de-stemmed and given 5-7 pre-fermentation cold maceration. After an indigenous ferment the wine is given another 5-7 days post ferment time on skins. Wine is then transferred to 1-4 (25% new oak) year old French medium toast barriques for an 11 month maturation, before racking and bottling.
Estate Vineyard composition: 62% The Fusilier - Bannockburn, 16% - The Last Chance – Earnscleugh (Alexandra), 14% The Red Bank – Earnscleugh (Alexandra), 8 % The First Paddock – Gibbston.
Lifted red fruit, violet and spicy blackcurrant aromatics. Followed by a suave, textural palate showing lots of density, complexity and persistence.
pH 3.61 -- TA 6.1 g/l -- Alc 13.5 %
Proprietor: Sam Neill
Viticulturist: Mike Wing
Winemaker: Dean Shaw
Bottled: March 2016
Cellar: 2016 – 2023
Reviews
| Award / Reviewer | Date | Rating | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Cooper's NZ Wines 2018 Buyer's Guide | Jun 2018 | 5 Stars | |
Delicious now, the 2015 vintage (5*) was grown at Bannockburn (62 per cent), Alexandra (30 per cent) and Gibbston (8 per cent), and matured in French oak casks (25 per cent new). Ruby hued, it is a fragrant, very graceful red with cherry, plum and spice flavours, hints of herbs and nuts, excellent complexity and a savoury, lingering finish. A very 'complete' wine, it's already delicious. |
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| JamesSuckling.com Nick Stock Contributing Editor | Nov 2017 | 94 Points | |
This has a deep and darker fruited feel to it with dark cherries, blueberries and plenty of toasted spices. The palate has impressive weight and presence. Tannins are cast in thicker lines and there's a strident acid profile that really drives things along. An impressive wine that could use a little time to bed in. Try from 2020. |
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| Wine Spectator, Maryann Worobiec | Aug 2017 | 93 Points | |
As tasted for Wine Spectator article "Upwardly Mobile" 31 Aug 2017 |
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| The Wine Buyers Guide June/July 2017 | Jun 2017 | 93 Points | |
A change of blend in recent years with the addition of Sam Neill's new The Fusilier vineyard in Bannockburn. Always elegantly structured, the wine is even richer and more sumptuous in 2015! |
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| The Times UK, Jane MacQuitty | Jun 2017 | Well-structured | |
A step down from actor Sam Neill's First (First Paddock Single Vineyard) but well-structured, with plenty of truffle, game and clove-scented fruit. |
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| The Wine Gang | Jun 2017 | 91 Points | |
The latest release of Two Paddocks' flagship wine is a barrel selection from the Neill family's four Central Otago vineyards and is a glorious Pinot, with cherry and red berry fruit flecked with numeg, a succulent texture and graceful persistence. |
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| Wine Spectator | Feb 2017 | 93 Points | |
Complex and intruiging, with fresh raspberry, cherry and tangerine flavors. Sleek and polished, showing plenty of traction from the tannins. Sophisticated and aromatic. Drink now through 2030. |
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| Gourmet Traveller Wine Feb/March 2017 | Jan 2017 | Iconic Wine | |
Produced from all four of the Neill family's Central Otago vineyards. Lifted red fruit, violet and spicy blackcurrant aromatics leading to a suave, textural palate showing density, complexity and persistence. |
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| Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate #228 | Dec 2016 | 90 Points | |
Pale ruby colored with a hint of purple, the 2015 Pinot Noir has an evocative nose of cranberries and red currants with nuances of garrigue, wild thyme, underbrush and mossy bark. The palate is elegantly constructed with a light body and soft, fine-grained tannins supporting the lively fruit and finishing long. |
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| Cameron Douglas MS | Dec 2016 | 94 Points | |
Fragrant, soft earthy spices, some wild flowers and wild red fruits, familiar red cherry, red apple and tea notes, seasoned barrel spice and quite complex overall. On the palate – youthful with plenty of acidity cushioned by ripe red berry fruit, floral moments and moderate toasty wood spices; fine silky tannins, ticks all the boxes for Otago fine wine, lengthy, complex and memorable. |
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