Craggy Range Aroha Te Muna Martinborough Pinot Noir 2024
- 95
- $201.99
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Grown on a narrow band of clay over stone in the Te Muna Vineyard, from vines now over 25 years old, this blends two clones picked five days apart — Clone 667, fermented with 85% whole clusters, and Clone 114 from Prestige Block 16, part-fermented in sandstone amphora. Both were hand-picked and wild-fermented, then aged for 14 months in French oak barriques. The perfume opens with lashings of dark berries, cherry conserve, plum, blackberry, boysenberry, stemmy spice, a touch of cacao nib and white chocolate. It’s dark and brooding, but not at the expense of Pinot charm and fragrance. Some time in the glass reveals clove and forest floor, with the fruit unfurling to add vibrancy and fill out the palate. It’s sapid and dense in the mouth, with a coating of flavours mirroring the nose, all wrapped in firm, chalk-dust tannins and fresh acidity. The finish holds bitter cacao-nib tones as it carries to a very long length. This shape shifts in the glass on account of its nervous youth, but once it settles, you’re in for a ride. There’s complexity now, but also the structure, oak influence and fruit power to age in the longer term.
Tom Kline is a wine writer, reviewer, presenter, and educator based in Victoria, Australia. He is the Australian correspondent for the internationally respected publications Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy and Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux, where he highlights the top tier of Australian wine for a global audience. Tom also writes for leading outlets including Decanter (UK), Wine Spectator (US), and Halliday Magazine, among others. An experienced wine show judge and WSET educator, he has authored several consumer-focused wine courses aimed at making wine more accessible and engaging. In 2023, Tom was awarded Best Published Feature Article or Wine Column at the prestigious Wine Communicator Awards, presented by Wine Communicators of Australia.
