2016 Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Southern Valleys subregion. Mid-purple. Brambly, forest fruits, with some leafy touches. Cinnamon-vanilla oak, with some chocolate. Attractive and fruit-forward. Brisk acidity, somewhat primary, moderate tannins. Decent length. Appealing and polished. Neat, even if not the most profound. (TJ)
Critic scores
Average Score
Tim Jackson MW, jancisrobinson.com
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Pinot Noir has more sophistication and depth on the nose than the 2015, offering blackberry, raspberry and wild strawberry scents and a touch of damp moss and rose petal. The edgy, taut palate is medium-bodied with a fine bead of acidity, but at the moment, it does not quite deliver the complexity that I was expecting after the impressive aromatics. Give it another year in bottle because, like the 2015, it needs more Pinot expression and more personality to come through.
While the company has invested enormously in its Central Otago Pinot Noir project, I continue to think the Marlborough wine is better, at least for the moment. The 2016 Pinot Noir is a silky, medium-bodied wine, loaded with raspberry and strawberry fruit. Hints of cola and spice add dimension and linger on the finish. It's 15% whole cluster and sees about one-third new French oak, but neither of those elements come across as dominating, they're subtler, mostly structural, components.