Reviews
Porters Pinot Noir 2006
Lean, delicate wine of cherries and mulberries, fine tannins and grippy acidity with a delicate hint of spices.Winestate
Porters Pinot Noir 2004
Top-rating Martinborough pinot, full of good texture and life as well as some really good fruit. Surely one of Martinborough's best in 20 years?Peter Saunders in Food and Beverage Magazine - February 2006
Porters Pinot Noir 2003
Overall, this is a selection of very finely crafted wines. They were difficult to fault in the technical sense and more difficult to select favourites from. These wines emphasise fruit quality and the distinctiveness and personalities of their respective terroirs.The 2003 Porters Pinot Noir: A vibrant raspberry nose and sweet fruit flavours are cut but by elegant tannins and noticeable acid that combine to leave a pleasing bitter twist to the finish. This is a serious wine with potential.
Sharon Wild Kiwi Club Tasting review #1 - 4 May 2005
Porters Pinot Noir 2001
A big, brambly-sweet, barnyard nose ("Strawberry patch in a stagnant pond" - Andrew Parkinson) On to the palate which was described with words like 'fecund', 'undergrowth' and 'char'. I loved the tight integration of sweet and savoury layers.Capital Times Wine Report - 25 September 2002
A big pinot, dense and rich with quite an elegant spice profile. Unlike others this is big upfront but subtle on the finish, closing up. Cherry and plum fruit, herbs, lavender, earthy tannins yet sweet, juicy and musky with a spicy lift to the long lingering finish.Sue Courtney - www.wineoftheweek.com - 16 October 2002.
Porters Pinot Gris 2001
This is my pick of Porters' two pinots because its concentrated flavours take you by complete surprise, then it finishes deliciously dry. This wine is one of New Zealand's best pinot gris. Its flavour comes from the wine being aged on its lees (dead yeast cells) for six months before being bottled, and the fact that only one tonne of grapes was harvested an acre - less grapes equals more flavour.Joelle Thomson Wine of the Week, Auckland Herald
Soft, peachy notes greet the nostrils. In the mouth it is intense and nicely textured and with long fruit (stonefruit, citrus) and an earthy, slightly bitter finish with some heat.
Capital Times Wine Report - 25 September 2002
Porters Pinot Noir 2000
With 14% alcohol this is no soft, round pinot statement, but rather a bolshie, somewhat aggressive young wine, overseen by Larry McKenna. There's a lot here to unfold and settle over the next couple of years but I expect something impressive. One to be patient with.Peter Saunders - F & B Best of the Best Wine Supplement - December 2001
Porters Pinot Gris 2000
Porters Pinot Gris 2000 Creamy nuances on the nose with zesty spice. Bright, honeyed lemon and pears with a lovely ripeness and texture and stone fruits emerging on the finish. Good, bright, zingy acidity and a lovely creamy texture. Very ripe, with a gewurztraminer-like spiciness coming thru on the finish.Sue Courtney - www.wineoftheweek.com - 17 September 2001.
Martinborough Pinot Gris may answer many prayers about an alternative white in a world "awash with Chardonnay". The concentration in his wine from a fine, small and intense vintage demands bottle age, until 2003 preferably, then enjoy a bold and strong Pinot Gris statement. Lots to happen.Peter Saunders - Wine Evaluation Service - 30 July 2001
Porters Pinot Gris 1999
Different to the 1998 suaveness, this one more honeyed, more floral and lightly sweet like a vendage-tardive style in Alsace. Lots still to open up with bottle age. Drink 2002 - 2005.Peter Saunders - A Guide to New Zealand Wine 2001
... absolutely luscious ...
Warren Barton - The Dominion - Dec 16, 2000
Porters Pinot Noir 1999
Grunty style with lots of chew on mid-mouth, plenty of rich texture an some fruit weight which badly needs time to unfold. Enjoy the 1998 before this one.Peter Saunders - A Guide to New Zealand Wine 2001
... big and chocolately ...
Warren Barton - The Dominion - Dec 16, 2000
Supple, substantial wine with fresh, strong, berryish flavours. Mouthfilling and vibrantly fruity, with subtle oak influence. One panellist praised it as "Benchmark pinot, ripe, elegant and beautiful". (Four Stars)
Winestate - Australia and New Zealand wine guide - March/April 2001
Should you be in need of something rich, red and masculine to stand up to barbecued Polish sausage or Munster cheese or even that empty feeling that can set in on the happiest day of the year, the 1999 Porters Pinot Noir is such a wine. This is a Martinborough pinot of power and depth; a heady montage of fruit and spice flavours with a high, sweet finish.
John Saker - Capital Times - December 2000