2019 The Fusilier Pinot Noir, Two Paddocks, Central Otago

Located in Bannockburn, the Two Paddocks Fusilier vineyard is named in honour of proprietor Sam Neill’s father, Major Dermot Neill, who served in the Royal Irish Fusilier Regiment for twenty years before returning home to Dunedin, New Zealand. Planted in 2000, it is 5.6 hectares of Pinot Noir on rolling, alluvial, north-facing terraces at the western end of Felton Road, being bordered by the vineyard of the same name.

As we often see when tasting The Fusilier in its youth, this 2019 is a tight, action-packed Pinot. 63% whole bunches were used in the fermentation, giving this wine a beautiful aromatic complexity. Colour is glistening pale ruby, with an intense nose of spiced red currant and violet. This is a firmly concentrated, compact wine with powerful, vibrant middle fruit underpinned by a strong mineral thread. There is admirable structure here, with fleshy texture and a long-lingering, spicy finish (for drinking late 2022-2029+).