Bold, with English breakfast tea, dense tannins and dried sage flavors in balance with licorice-laced plum and black cherry flavors. A smoky thread of palo santo lingers on the finish, where the tannins firm up. Drink now through 2030. 2,000 cases made, 500 cases imported.

This Pinot, from the Southern Valleys region of Marlborough, is quite dense and reductive at the start. Underneath you can see there's ripe dark-berry and plum fruit with soft, earthy herbs, and a polish of sweetly spiced oak, but give this plenty of air before those aromas emerge. Thanks in part to the reduction, acidity and tannins on the palate feel aggressive. Nevertheless there's juicy fruit, an appealing chalky texture and a long finish. A mouthful, this lacks the elegance the variety so willingly provides, but it does hint at better things to come in future. Drink 2021-2028.