2015 Tongue in Groove "Cabal Vineyard" Pinot Noir Waipara Valley
SKU #1356292
95 points
Sam Kim
Seductive, fragrant and engaging, the bouquet shows dark fruit, smoked game, cedar, black olive and truffle aromas, leading to a silky-smooth palate that is fleshy and velvety. The wine offers delectable fruit flavours as well as spicy/savoury nuances, wonderfully framed by polished tannins. At its best: now to 2023.
(6/2018)
94-95 points
Raymond Chan
Full, even, dark ruby-red colour, a little lighter on the rim. The bouquet is softly full and deeply packed with concentrated aromas of savoury dark-red berry fruit with notes of dark plums interwoven with a layer of complexing dark and dried herbs with a lifted whole bunch stalk perfume element, some earth and mushroom and a suggestion of game. This has detail and plenty of complexity. Medium-full bodied, the palate has rich and mouthfilling, sweet and luscious flavours of savoury dark-red berry fruit along with notes of dark and dried herbs, some whole bunch stalk lift, unfolding earthy and undergrowth elements. The flavours are fulsome, but balanced by fine-grained flowery tannin extraction and soft, integrated acidity. The wine carries to an elegant finish. This is a rich, sweet-fruited Pinot Noir with complex savoury dark-red berry flavours with herbs, whole bunch and earth on a fine-grained palate. Serve with coq au vin, casseroles ans slow-cooked game meat over the next 6+ years. Fruit from the ‘Cabal’ vineyard, indigenous yeast fermented with 40% whole bunches and a portion of whole berries to 13.5% alc. the wine aged 16 months in 25% new French oak barriques.
(6/2018)
93 points
Bob Campbell
Made from hand-picked grapes that were fermented using indigenous yeasts and 40% whole bunches. Unfined and unfiltered. Low levels of sulphur is the only addition. Quite an expressive pinot noir with a rich, almost earthy, stemmy, savoury character supported by plum, berry and spice flavours. Nicely structured and accessible now but with obvious potential.
(5/2017)
93 points
James Suckling
Ripe and attractive black-cherry and plum aromas with a neat thread of spicy and earthy, savory notes. Supple, fleshy and silky palate with juicy, ripe and spicy red-cherry flavors, finishing fresh and luscious. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
(10/2018)
91 points
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Cabal Vineyard Pinot Noir comes from clay and limestone slopes not far from Mountford. Mainly Dijon clones, it offers aromas of vanilla and cedar, which frame earthy cola and black cherry fruit. It's medium to full-bodied, with a lush, creamy mouthfeel and a long, firmly tannic finish. It's approachable now but should drink well through 2025. (JC)
(2/2018)
91 points
Wine Spectator
Details of roasted chicory, fresh earth and tomato leaf add an appealing savory note to the velvety core of black tea–scented black cherry and raspberry flavors, with firming tannins. (MW)
(10/2018)
Jancis Robinson
Concentrated and sweet fruit on the nose, with strong oak influence on the palate. Firm and full, with typically boisterous fruit, but plenty of complexity and length too. The toasted oak character is perhaps a little dominant. 17/20 points. (RH)
(3/2019)
K&L Notes
World Class Pinot Noir! Tongue in Groove's "Cabal Vineyard" Pinot Noir is from their home region in the Waipara Valley. The vineyard is farmed without the use of any pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or artificial fertilizers. Fruit is hand selected. The soils here are a complex mix of clay, alluvial gravels and most importantly fragmented limestone. Waipara's clay-limestone mix gives the wines of this region a lovely combination of lush, soft texture and fresh, lifted, vibrant aromatics. The Cabal vineyard lends all of this in spades.
#100 James Suckling Top 100 New Zealand Wines 2018
