TerraVin winemaker Gordon Ritchie was in Wellington recently, and explained the greater focus on single vineyard expression of their Pinot Noirs. The future should see clearly defined bottlings from the ‘Eaton Family’, Cowley’ and ‘Calrossie’ sites. This will be at the expense of the barrel selection ‘Hillside Reserve’ wine which showcased the bigger and more structured style. The 2011 ‘Hillside Reserve’ Pinot Noir will be last under that label.
Gordon took me through the new and up-coming releases, the 2011 oak-influenced ‘Te Ahu’ Sauvignon Blanc, the 2011 Chardonnay and ‘Hillside Reserve’ Chardonnay (which will be released later, in September 2013), and the (still) flagship 2010 ‘Hillside Reserve’ Pinot Noir. My reviews follow. www.terravin.co.nz