Te Kairanga "Runholder" Pinot Noir Martinborough (NZ) 2005

Deep red.

Vibrant cracked pepper/juniper nose, earth/meat underneath. I'd guess this was cool climate Shiraz.

Intense, but very light impression in the mouth, alcohol obviously low (12.5% listed). Acid-driven flavors (mirroring nose) ride through mid-palate nicely. A bit of chew, but finely rendered, pure wine. This has a great deal more stuffing and flavor than the 2004 blogged earlier. Citrus zest character emerges with time in the glass, as does a finishing note of iron.

Screwcap - this will be interesting to come back to in a year or two.

Day 3 - Nose has fleshed out quite a bit. Deep now. Mouth is still linear, intense. This is not likely to fatten up with cellaring, but it will be really interesting to watch aromatic and flavor complexity expand with bottle age.

$25