2023 Mt Difficulty Roaring Meg Pinot Noir

A bright, approachable Central Otago Pinot that nails the balance between ripe fruit and easy, unfussy drinking.

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Sale price$33.00
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Description

Roaring Meg has always been the easygoing side of Mt Difficulty’s lineup - still very much Central Otago, but without the need for serious cellaring or ceremony. The 2023 vintage keeps that spirit alive, offering a plush, fruit-driven Pinot made for uncomplicated enjoyment.

The fruit comes from vineyards across the Cromwell Basin, with a bit of Bendigo in the mix this year adding extra depth and darker fruit notes. It was a warm, fast-paced vintage, but a cool spell late in the season helped stretch things out, bringing nice balance to the ripeness. Winemaking sticks to the script: destemmed fruit, gentle plunging, 10 months in mostly older French oak, and a soft touch in the cellar to keep the focus on bright, juicy Pinot fruit.

What you get is a wine that’s ripe, fresh, and straight-up easy to drink. It’s not chasing complexity or weight - it’s about clean fruit, smooth tannins, and sheer drinkability. Pop it any night of the week; no excuse needed.

90 points
"Immediately expressive with aromas of violet, blackberry and cherry, hints of clove and smoky spice... Plush, drink-now style."
- Stephen Wong (The Real Review)

90 points - "Immediately expressive with aromas of violet, blackberry and cherry, seasoned with a hint of clove from oak as well as a touch of smoky spice. The mid-weight palate is silky and accessible with juicy, forward flavours of tamarillo, boysenberry and blackberry. The fine notes of oak are already integrated on the palate, adding to the generous mouthfeel created by the velvety tannins and contrasting, fresh acidity. The mid-length finish carries milk chocolate and black fruit notes with a lingering wood spice. A plush, drink-now style which will provide enjoyable drinking for a few years while gaining some more complexity in the near-term." - Stephen Wong (The Real Review)

Tasting Note
Blackberry, red cherry and macerated strawberry. Inviting and vibrant nose. There is a touch of licorice and a faint suggestion of baking spice and pain grillé from the balanced oak. Ripe and full on entry, berry flavours echoing the nose.

Cellaring Potential
Roaring Meg Pinot Noir will improve for three to five years given optimal cellaring conditions.

Vintage 2023
Central Otago had a vastly different growing season to the rest of the country. A mild, wet winter led into a warm and unusually still spring, which meant strong shoot growth and very successful fruit set. Cromwell then experienced its hottest January on record, with picking starting early in the middle of March. In April, a blast of cold weather and rain was a welcome handbrake on ripening, resulting in one of the longer vintages at Mt Difficulty and delivering great flavour and tannin ripeness.

Vineyard
The grapes for this wine come from our Cromwell Basin vineyards, managed by our dedicated viticultural team. The addition of fruit from our Bendigo vineyard has lent a powerful, darker edge to this vintage.

Winemaking Considerations
Grapes were both machine and hand-harvested and destemmed to enhance the natural fruit characters of Pinot Noir. Fermentation lasted on average for 25 days, with temperatures peaking at 28–30 °C. The wine was plunged once daily during pre-fermentation and twice daily during fermentation. Post-fermentation, the wine was left to extract with no further punch downs.

Once tannins were in balance, the wine was pressed, settled, and put into French oak (15% new) where it resided on lees for 10 months. It underwent malolactic fermentation during early spring, was racked out of barrel in early summer, and filtered but not fined prior to bottling.

Price Bracket $31 to $40
Type Red
Body Medium Bodied
Variety Pinot Noir
Country New Zealand
Region Central Otago
Reviewed By The Real Review
Critic Score 90
Alcohol 14%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2023
Closure Screw Cap

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