2008 Earth Smoke Pinot Noir

The last two wines are from Mike’s “Home” vineyards in North Canterbury. The 2008 “Earth Smoke” Pinot Noir gives a very pale ruby, slightly cloudy color and a good intensity of funky, wild strawberry and soy aromas with nuances of dried herbs and cloves. The medium bodied palate is very elegant with exquisitely soft tannins, medium to high acid and a medium-long finish. Drink it now to 2014. “Technology has allowed us to make better wine more naturally. We can test now to see if Brett is going to be a problem,” Pyramid Valley’s owner Mike Weersing explained during our tasting in Singapore. “My passion right now is natural winemaking. True wines.” A proponent of biodynamics for his small-but-beautiful “Home” vineyards in a remote corner of North Canterbury, Mike also has an eye for sourcing high quality fruit from some amazing sites around the country including the hillside Eaton Family vineyard in Marlborough and the Calvert vineyard in Central Otago. While his inimitable style polarizes many in New Zealand, from where I’m standing he’s doing a fantastic job at expressing his sites, varieties and vision. It probably doesn’t need to be mentioned but all the wines are fermented using indigenous yeast. Importer: Wine Connections Inc, Denver, CO; tel. (303) 777-0409

Slightly hazy washed-out red. Deep aromas of cherry, strawberry, cinnamon and earth. Broad, spicy and sweet, with a dusty texture and the inner-palate energy that comes from limestone soil. Plenty of soil character here. Today this comes off as a bit less perfumed than the Angel Flower but richer. Finishes with serious but fine tannins and good thrust.