RKS 2023 Wine: The Bad Oak Stink of A Bubonic Plague New Zealand Pinot Noir! Oak Murder of a Wine!

Posted byRobert K Stephen (CSW)Posted inWineTags:, , ,

Wine can stink with a variety of contaminants. I recall having a Hester Creek Merlot from British Columbia a few years ago. It was jacked up with so much sulfur the wine tasted like hot dog juice. Oak can compliment the juice or it can embarrass itself by overpowering a wine.

I tried a Nor’Wester Greystone 2020 Pinot Noir from North Canterbury, New Zealand. No punches pulled but it stunk of new oak. My experience dictates never use new oak for your Pinot Noir but at best second or third fill oak barrels.

There was no fruit on the nose but simply overpowering oak. No fruit or much of anything on the palate other than perhaps a wine murdered by oak. This is the bubonic plague of Pinot Noir!

Stay away is my rating. A disgrace of winemaking. Jamessuckling.com gave this a 91! Priced at $22.75 CDN.

(Nor’wester by Greystone, Pinot Noir 2020 North Canterbury, New Zealand, Greystone Wines, North Canterbury, New Zealand, 750 mL, 13%).

Published by Robert K Stephen (CSW)

Robert K Stephen writes about food ,drink, travel, film, and lifestyle issues. He also has published serialized novels "Life at Megacorp", "Virus # 26, "Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog" and "The Penniless Pensioner" Robert was the first associate member of the Wine Writers’ Circle of Canada. He also holds a Mindfulness Certification from the University of Leiden and the University of Toronto. Be it Spanish cured meat, dried fruit, BBQ, or recycled bamboo place mats, Robert endeavours to escape the mundane, which is why he has established this publication. His motto is, "Have Story, Will Write."

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