Otago-a-go-go
TASTING NOTES: “Spicy dark cherries and a toasty cinnamon fill the nose initially, followed by inviting layers of plums and white chocolate. The palate is full bodied and dense with sweet, dark red stone fruits lifting from all aspects of the mouthfeel, underpinned by a voluptuous pairing of new French oak. Silky fine tannins give the wine structure, along with perfectly balanced acidity. The 2021 Invivo Pinot Noir is a bold wine that will happily pair with a range of cuisine and reward patience in the cellar for at least 8 years.” (AbV 14.5%)
VARIETALS: 100% Pinot Noir
BARRELS: French oak, some notable portion new.
PAIRS WITH: Anything between roast lamb and a bowl of truffle popcorn.
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Otago, the administrative region containing the Central Otago wine region.
Part of the Southern Island, which had been occupied by the Māori since about the 1300’s, European settlers started showing up in the 17th century. The Free Church of Scotland sponsored a settlement in Otago, whose first major ships arrived in 1848. The immigrants elected Captain William Walter Cargill as their Superintendent after serving as an unofficial leader. He had some wild facial hair.
Then, in the 1860’s, they struck gold in Central Otago, and suddenly everybody wanted to go to the South Island. Dunedin on the coast became New Zealand’s largest town within something like 20 years of being founded because of it. All sorts of mining settlements popped up, and migrant miners piled into the region. Once the output of gold began declining in the mid-1860’s, though, the place quieted down considerably. However, one of the miners, a French man named Jean Desire Feraud, planted some curious vines while he was there…
