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)
Price Bracket | $101 and Above |
Type | Red |
Body | Medium Bodied |
Variety | Pinot Noir |
Country | New Zealand |
Region | Martinborough |
Feature |
High Score Iconic Organic Biodynamic |
Reviewed By |
The Wine Front The Real Review |
Critic Score |
98 96 95 |
Size | 750ml |
Vintage | 2020 |
Closure | Cork |
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Shipping
Delivery is free on orders of $150 or more!
For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.
We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.
Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.
Sydney (Our Vans): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions our driver will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so if not, they will return the item to us and hold your order until further instruction from you.
Melbourne (Anonymous Wine Freight): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions, the courier will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so. if not, they will return the item to their dispatch centre and hold until further instruction from you.
Australia Post: Australia Post will leave the parcel if they have been given authority to leave and it is deemed safe to do so. To give your Authority to Leave, please enter this in the 'SPECIAL REQUEST' box at checkout.
Ordering
We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. If you see a lower price elsewhere, just get in touch and we will sort it out for you. We handle all our price-matching on a case by case basis.
Some things to keep in mind:
- Retrospective price-matching is available for 30 days after you have purchased from us.
- The price match cannot be used in conjunction with a coupon or one-off deal we are offering. The idea is for you to get the best price in the market so if that is already achieved through a coupon then we won't price match on top of that.
- We don't price match clearance or fire sales.
- We’ll match the listed price as long as it is a legitimate offer and the competing store is actually able to fulfil the order (they have stock or more stock is en route). Essentially we won't price match cheeky vendors listing wines they have no hope of actually getting for you...
- It must be a publicly listed price. We won't match a price that has been achieved through a coupon/cash-back arrangement, or through a non-advertised offer over the phone or otherwise.
- It is limited to a reasonable retail quantity.
We'll treat each price match request on its merit and reserve the right to refuse where we deem fit. For example, particularly rare wines, from non-trust-worthy vendors, in circumstances we deem illegitimate or if we feel our policy is being unfairly taken advantage of.
At the end of the day, we'll look after you and use common sense to ensure you're getting the best price, please just don't take the p%$$!
No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.
We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.
To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you.
If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.
If you can't add more wine to your cart it means we are low on stock of that wine. For example, if you are only able to 3 bottles and no more that means we only have 3 bottles left of that wine. If it's a must have, please contact us and we may be able to order more in for you.
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