Question: I am a long time collector of pinot noirs from Central Otago but I am noticing a change in the style. Why is this?
Answer: Not quite sure what you mean by your question as to how they have changed in style – to a more preferred one for you or not? . Most vineyards around the world are experiencing some changes in climate. Believe Central Otago (a drier colder southern region of New Zealand) so far has been less affected than many other wine regions. However their future weather projections show a continuing warming trend with more extremes of rainfall. Presently one of their biggest wine changes has resulted from carefully determining the very best single vineyard sites for growing pinot noir plus the maturing of the vines over the past two decades. This has brought more complexity. Another important development has been the backing off on extraction techniques during fermentation resulting in less dark deep colour but most attractive floral aromatics in a balanced elegant pinot noir with a unique terroir. The future looks bright indeed.
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