Reductive at first, there's a somewhat sweaty, oniony funk overlaying the brambly fruit and minty spice on this Pinot. It does blow off a little with time in the glass, allowing some bright, brambly blueberry and raspberry fruit to peek through the cracks, but doesn't disappear completely. Acidity is biting on the palate, and the juicy, plush fruit is tempered by chewy, drying tannins. A rather heavy-handed expression of this inherently graceful variety.\n \n Producer Information\n Mt Difficulty Wines is a prominent wine producer in New Zealand's Central Otago region. The estate has around 40 hectares (100 acres) of some of the oldest vines in Bannockburn, which yield complex fruit – and particularly Pinot Noir, which has brought Mt Difficulty international recognition. The estate was established in the early 1990s, from five newly planted vineyards in the Bannockburn sub-region. Mt Difficulty is named for the mountain that hovers above the vineyards, and counts famous Otago producer Felton Road among its neighbors. Overlooking the Cromwell basin, the Mt Difficulty vineyard has a continental climate with a large diurnal temperature shift. There is little rainfall and humidity in the area, making it an excellent environment to grow not only the thin-skinned, finicky Pinot Noir, but also Pinot Gris, Riesling and Chardonnay. The first vintage of Mt Difficulty was in 1998. In 1999, the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay recieved gold and silver medals, respectively, at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards, New Zealand's most important wine show. This shot the wines to fame, and in 1999, wines made from Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc were added to the portfolio. Riesling was added the following year. Today, Mt Difficulty produces a much larger portfolio of wines, spearheaded by its estate Pinot Noir. Several single-vineyard wines from Pinot Noir are produced to illustrate the unique characteristics of individual sites. A second label, Roaring Meg, was established in 2004 to provide the market with fruit-forward wines at an affordable price. The most recent addition, the Growers Series, demonstrates the terroir of Central Otago's other subregions. The Mt Difficulty winery was completed in 2001, and is a popular destination for tourists in Central Otago.
