2020 Dry River Pinot Noir
2020 Dry River Pinot Noir

2020 Dry River Pinot Noir

Highly Rated
Dry River |Martinborough |Pinot Noir
Wonderful Pinot release for the cellar from one of NZ's icon producers, combining power and delicacy.
Price:
$150.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
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Description

The 2020 Dry River Pinot Noir is the pinnacle of Martinborough winemaking, standing as one of New Zealand’s most sought-after Pinot Noirs. Crafted from vines planted by Neil and Dawn McCallum in 1979 on the now-iconic gravelly soils of the Martinborough Terrace. The McCallums had a vision: to produce wines that capture the unique terroir of the region, and more than four decades later, that dream is still being realised with breathtaking precision.

98 points
"Winemaker Wilco describes 2020 as a great vintage. The wine certainly endorses his enthusiasm...A very serious pinot noir. Deserves to be aerated, especially in its youth."
- Bob Campbell MW (The Real Review)

Under the stewardship of winemaker Wilco Lam, the 2020 vintage represents an exceptional year for Dry River. In fact, Bob Campbell MW awarded this wine a stunning 98 points, highlighting the brilliance of both the season and the winemaking team’s craft. Grown biodynamically, the wine reflects the ethos of sustainability and respect for the land that has always been at Dry River’s core.

This Pinot is not for the impatient. It’s a wine built to age, with layers of dark cherry, wild herbs, and earthy complexity revealing themselves slowly. The fruit is concentrated but elegant, underpinned by fine tannins and a vibrant, refreshing acidity that hints at a long life ahead in the cellar.

96 points
"A powerful and seductive bouquet with a core of pinosity then aromas of dark red berries, mineral soil, a fine savoury, dried herb quality and youthful energy... A lovely wine that should be locked away in your cellar till 2024 then taste again."
- Douglas Cameron MS

The 2020 harvest, marked by the global turmoil of COVID-19, required resilience and determination, with the entire picking done by Dry River’s small, dedicated team. And yet, the vintage emerged unscathed—cool spring, warm summer, and just the right amount of rain—resulting in a stellar year that will be remembered not only for its challenges but for producing some of the finest wines in Martinborough's history.

This wine is a perfect reflection of its place and time, one to savour now with air or lay down for future enjoyment, as it promises to evolve beautifully over the next decade or more.

95+ points
"Beautiful wine. Likely will rate higher again with a few more years under its belt, but touch and go for 96 points now, I reckon."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

There were many happy faces amongst the wine producers in Martinborough, up until mid-March. Then Covid-19 reached New Zealand and forced the country, and world, into an unprecedented lockdown, shutting down most of our professional and social lives and releasing a serious dose of stress and anxiety. It was an experience that will surely be with us for many years to come.

Many were lucky, but some didn’t escape so well. We were allowed to keep going, luckily, and able to finish the harvest. In any other year, the harvest is our time for celebration. The relief of harvesting many months of blood, sweat and stress. At picking time we have a community to help us, to share with us and to support us in this joyous occasion. Ordinarily we have a community to help us with harvest, but the lockdown meant the entire process was undertaken entirely by our small team. It was their determination, and the neighbourly camaraderie of others in our position, that got us through. A big thank you to all!!

Who will remember the 2020 harvest for anything else? Well, a brief reminder that the vintage was nothing but spectacular. After a frost affected the 2019 vintage, many vineyards this year seem to have recovered well. A cool spring was easily forgotten after the warm flowering conditions in December. This meant that the yields were healthy, combined with continued beautiful summer weather in January, February and March. So nothing was going to throw us out, nothing. Not even the rain event at the start of April, breaking the drought for most of the country south of Auckland.
2020 is promising to be a stellar year; one to remember, one for the books.

98 points - "Winemaker Wilco describes 2020 as a great vintage. The wine certainly endorses his enthusiasm. It's an intense, powerful and yet surprisingly accessible pinot noir, with layers of cherry, berry, spice and savoury flavours that are indescribably delicious and which promise to get even better with bottle age. A very serious pinot noir. Deserves to be aerated, especially in its youth." - Bob Campbell MW (The Real Review)

96 points - "A powerful and seductive bouquet with a core of pinosity then aromas of dark red berries, mineral soil, a fine savoury, dried herb quality and youthful energy. Toasty barrel and dark spices of oak are noticeable, but not misplaced. Fantastic on the palate with a core of youthful energy, baking spices and dark berry fruit flavours, firm tannins and plenty of acidity. The heartbeat of pinosity is strong, holding my attention. A lovely wine that should be locked away in your cellar till 2024 then taste again. Best drinking likely from 2025 through 2040." - Douglas Cameron MS

95+ points - "Spice, dried roses, a pleasing earthy bass, bright cherry and cranberry fruit. It’s medium-bodied, firm and bright, with a distinct ‘mineral’ crunch and freshness, spicy too, earth and floral notes mingling to great effect. Almost that sort of bloody character you get in Pommard (apologies for the reference, in a way), and a long crisp finish that offers a pleasant amount of orange peel bitterness. Beautiful wine. Likely will rate higher again with a few more years under its belt, but touch and go for 96 points now, I reckon." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

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