Valli Bannockburn Vineyard Pinot Noir 2018

Cellar for up to 11 years. No need to decant before serving.

Valli Vineyard was founded by winemaker Grant Taylor in 1998 who named the winery after his great-great-grandfather, Giuseppe Valli, who emigrated to New Zealand from his native Italy. Taylor is one of the original Central Otago pioneers, having made wine here since 1993 when there were just 20 hectares planted in the region.

He has helped many top New Zealand wineries with their first vintages including Felton Road, Mt Difficulty, Bald Hills and Hawkshead. Over the years his wines have been awarded the Best Pinot Noir Trophy at the International Wine Competition three times. At Valli Vineyard Taylor focuses on single vineyard wines which express the complexity of the Pinot Noir grape.

His Bannockburn Pinot is made from hand-harvested grapes and is aged in French oak barrels for 11 months before bottling. Bannockburn is one of Taylor’s cooler vineyards, so this is a classic and elegant style of Pinot Noir with ripe red cherry, raspberry and strawberry notes mingling with hints of herbs and spice from the oak ageing. On the palate there is a distinctive freshness and bright core of red berry flavours along with smooth tannins and a pure, clean finish.