Lovely perfumed nose of ripe, assertive berry fruit with a bit of meatiness and some spice. The palate is smooth, sweet and elegant with soft red/black fruits. Taut and spicy with a hint of herbiness and nice structure. It's a wine that successfully combines ripeness with freshness and elegance. Yes, it's new world Pinot, but it is so well balanced. Very good/excellent 93/100 - Jamie Goode - Wineanorak.com

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Ruby, carmine and velvet... Bouquet has a kind of midnight darkest red going on velvety black quality to it, yet still clearly floral and black cherry, rather than the simpler concept of dark plums. Palate has exactly the same extraordinary quality, velvety, deep, succulent, wonderfully rich, yet neither heavy or porty, beautifully balanced, highly varietal, long in the aftertaste. Oaking is exquisite. Quite simply, buy as much of this .... as you can afford... 19/20 ***** - Geoff Kelly - geoffkellywinereviews.co.nz

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2005 Pisa Range Estate Black Poplar Block is another densely built pinot, with considerable depth of ripe plum and dark cherry flavour. Hooke described it as having a “complex nose,with briar, mulchy and dusty overtones. Rich, fleshy palate. Concentrated yet elegant.” I thought it finished a bit hot and dry, but saw there was rich flavour and body to match. The wine’s beginning to come out of its shell but needs another year or two to show its best. 94/100 ***** - Gourmet Traveller WINE

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It's got some lovely stalk influence and some caramelly oak too, and when you take it in its entirety you see a wine of real potential. It could well age drastically well, despite my prejudice that Central Otago is not for ageing – this wine shows that this prejudice will wear itself out in time. Nice flow through the mid palate, excellent tannin on the finish, good acidity and fruit freshness. A note to the wary: there is quite a deal of herbal, stalk-like flavour here. 92/100 - Campbell Mattinson - Winefront

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Unfolding well, this Central Otago red is deeply coloured, lush, and substantial, with great charm and drinkability. Overflowing with ripe cherryish, plummy fruit, it is sturdy and supple, with an enticingly perfumed bouquet. ****1/2 - Winestate Magazine

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**** - Michael Cooper

17.5+ Chris Kissack - TheWineDoctor.com

Silver Medal - Bragato Awards

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Subregion: Cromwell Basin Winemaker Rudi Bauer
Stunning wine very feminine, elegant and seamless, beautiful soft sweet fruit. - Roger Jones for JancisRobinson.com

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