Burn Cottage 2019 Sauvage Vineyard Pinot Noir 750ml

Hailing from the treasure island of Central Otago, the 2019 Pinot Noir Sauvage Vineyard is a true delight, offering rich power and fragrance while remaining elegant and composed. The body is mid-weight at most, but it has a sense of substance along with being light on its feet. There’s clarity of fruit flavors as well as an intriguing wild herbs like thyme and rosemary. While being fresh and approachable already, it has an innate tannic richness, which holds the wine, and will provide grace once it evolves. For the minority that are interested, this is a combination of four clones off a 20-year-old vineyard in Bannockburn that Burn Cottage acquired in 2018. It spends nearly 4 weeks on skins before being pressed and is matured in 27% new oak. The abv is 14%.

Score: 94 points -- Rebecca Gibb, Vinous, 2023

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American-owned Burn Cottage is a 24-hectare estate in Pisa, Central Otago. (The Sauvage family also owns Koehler-Ruprecht in the Pfalz.) With Ted Lemon of Littorai as a consultant, the amphitheater-like site is farmed biodynamically. The emphasis is on Pinot Noir, although there's also a tiny amount of white wine produced (a blend of Grüner Veltliner and Riesling).