Description

Not to be confused with the Craggy Range Te Muna Pinot Noir.

MAN!  You would think we have ownership stock in Martinborough’s Craggy Range winery!  This winery is on a roll!  First we went nuts for its scintillating  Sauvignon Blanc Te Muna Vineyard ‘23 ($23.95) – 94 points and the #11/Top 100 Wines of the Year 2024 – Wine Spectator.  Then the discovery of the highly rated Craggy’s Te Kahu Gimblett Gravels Red Bordeaux, a stunning St-Emilion “knock off” from Hawke’s Bay ($22.95 currently backordered). 

NOW, we have just opened a bottle of Craggy’s just released 2023 Martinborough Pinot Noir and all I can say is we have been looking for an over delivering VALUE Pinot Noir like this for the longest time!   Light scarlet with great clarity.  Sleek and velvety!  A compelling potpourri of dried rose petals, violets, and tea leaves.  Raspberry coulis and cherries galore!   12.5% alcohol.  Will show off its vibrancy and be even more beautiful with a slight chill when the warmer weather prevails.

The grapes for this Pinot Noir are 100% hand-harvested and sourced from vines grown on the famed alluvial soils of the Martinborough region. Grapes are destemmed prior to whole-bunch fermentation in a combination of open top stainless steel tanks and French oak fermenters, using indigenous yeasts. The wine ages for ten months in French oak barriques, 28% new, before being fined, course filtered and bottled.  12.5% alcohol.

“Fresh raspberry puree, tart cherry and lingonberry flavors are precise and focused, with pretty accents of clove, oolong tea, crushed pine needles and dried sage on a muscular frame. The finish shows supple tannins alongside violet and rose petal notes. Drink now. 1,100 cases imported.” – 92 points, Wine Spectator (March 13, 2025) – $30