Pinot Noir Waitaki Vineyard, Valli Wines 2022

A delicate pinot with floral, orange blossom and ripe strawberry aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with fine tannins and a bright finish. Linear and juicy. Drink now. Screw cap.

The 2022 Waitaki Vineyard Pinot Noir is light and fine, both in the glass and aromatically. On the palate, the wine is so fine and littered with crushed shells, river stones and cherry skin. This is fragrant and lithe, pretty and detailed. It is all of these things, but it is not short. It spools through the long finish, like a fishing rod reel in cast. As there will be no 2023 Waitaki Vineyard Pinot Noir, make hay while the sun shines, I say. A beauty. 12.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink 2023-2036.

A fascinating and complex bouquet filled with scents of light and dark skinned cherry, some raspberry and yellow plum. There’s a distinctive seam of mineral chalk cushioned by core bright red berry fruit flavours, layers of spice and a touch of white smoke. A delicious wine an abundance of polished fine textured tannins and backbone of acidity. Well made, dry, lengthy and complex. Best drinking from 2026 through 2036.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Waitaki Vineyard is pale, perfumed and peaceful. A sense of calmness suggests this wine was very gently extracted. Tannins are fine and succulent, making this feel quite open and approachable from the start. Florals meet with woody herbs and red strawberry fruit on the tranquil finish. Drink 2025-2032.