Pinot Noir 2011 - Overstone, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Considered the ‘Holy Grail’ of winemaking by many producers, this is a wine that requires infinite patience and attention to detail to achieve the quality levels it is capable of. Overstone Pinot Noir is based on ripe cherry flavours with layers of spice and game complexity filling the palate.

Often considered the most difficult grape variety to cultivate and once only produced successfully in Burgundy, NZ is now a serious contender on the world stage for Pinot Noir.

Overstone: the name is as distinctive as the wines - fresh, full flavoured and easy to drink.

Since its first vintage in 1998, this Hawkes Bay Estate has won worldwide acclaim for its wines. The winery was born from a long standing interest in wine of Graeme Avery, a pharmaceutical scientist and former owner of medical publishing company Adis International.

The vineyards and winery are based near Hastings, Hawkes Bay, on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Along with wine growing, this area is renowned for its agricultural excellence, producing export pip and stone fruit, lamb, beef and venison, along with olive oil and lavender in more recent times. Latitudes range from 39° S to 42° S and climatic conditions are similar to some of the great wine regions of Europe. Wine has been made in Hawkes Bay since the 1850’s, and Marlborough has made its mark internationally since a late debut in the 1970’s. The warm, dry growing seasons and free-draining gravel soils of both regions have enabled them to become the premier wine growing regions in the country.

Overstone boasts a state of the art winery designed to crush over 1500 tonnes of grapes. The winemaking team, led by Grant Edmonds, have honed their winemaking skills in Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, California and Chile and Oregon and strive to maintain high standards in enviromentally sustainable viticultural and winemaking practices.

Bottle Size: 75cl

ABV: 12.5%

Price per bottle: £11.45