Then 2012 Central Otago Pinot Celebration in Queenstown, New Zealand, from Thursday 26 to Saturday 28 January 2012, attracted nearly 200 passionate pinotphiles from the UK, US, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. 

2002 Akarua Pinot Noir

This is the second time I’ve tasted the 2002 Akarua in the past 18 months and, like the first time, it’s a touch herbal but, on the positive side, it has robust tannins, good acid structure and is clearly argues a great case to age reds under screwcap.   

2010 Akarua Pinot Noir

Good solid plump fruit style with medium body and acids and a lengthy finish. www.akarua.com   2006 Amisfield Pinot Noir Showing signs of herbaceousness in aroma and on the palate. Fresh fruit still evident but not a fully ripe style. www.amisfield.co.nz   

2009 Amisfield Pinot Noir

This is the best Amisfield Pinot Noir I have tasted for several years, thanks to its spicy flavours, youthful tannins and acids and bright fruity appeal. Has this wine got plenty of positive aging up its sleeve or what? www.amisfield.co.nz   

2010 Aurum Pinot Noir

Light body, medium tannins and medium acids; pretty plum fruit, medium finish and ‘structured’ style, says winemaker Lucie. I agree. Give this one time to reveal its fruitiest appeal and to soften in structure. www.aurumwines.com   2009 Aurum Madeleine Pinot Noir More complete right now than the 2010 with silky tannins, a smooth texture and impressive length. www.aurumwines.com   

2009 Burn Cottage Pinot Noir

Like last year’s Burn Cottage Pinot Noir, this is a tight style right now, with medium+ tannins, relatively full body and bright sweet fruit intensity. Definitely one to cellar. www.burncottage.com   

2010 Carrick Pinot Noir

From a very small vintage for this quality focussed winery. Okay, who isn’t ‘quality focussed’ but Carrick forged its name in the local stone on high quality, thanks to now-departed winemaker Steve Davies – whose name will appear later alongside other wines he has made. This Pinot Noir is all about structure right now and needs time in bottle. www.carrick.co.nz   

2009 Ceres-Composition Pinot Noir

Named after the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres Pinot Noir is a super small production wine; only 500 cases are made each year of this fresh and fruity young wine, which has impressive concentration of flavour. The vineyard on which the grapes in this wine are grown is leased from Mt Difficulty. From 2011 onwards, a Riesling will join the Ceres range; from 2012 a Pinot Gris will. www.cereswines.co.nz   

2010 Chard Farm Tiger Pinot Noir

A top vintage. And if there’s a more iconic vineyard in Central Otago, I have yet to see it; Chard Farm is not only one of the very first to be planted (first vintage 1989); it’s one of the best reasons to drive over the Crown Range and gaze down from the precariously beautiful hillside road onto the patch of vibrant green vines…. Okay and the wine? ‘Tiger Pinot Noir’ is named after the late ‘Tiger’ Thomson (no relation to yours truly), who worked at the cellar door and has a manner as elegant as this wine is silky. For all that, the grapes in this wine are actually grown in the Cromwell Basin at Lowburn. www.chardfarm.co.nz   

2010 Coal Pit Tiwha Pinot Noir

This is a relatively small winery, even in New Zealand terms; based in the Gibbston Valley, it is situated 420 metres above sea level and this vintage is made with wild yeast fermentation, giving the wine a lovely floral style, thanks to winemaker Lynn Horton. www.coalpitwine.com   

2007 Desert Heart Pinot Noir

Is it a coincidence this exceptional Pinot Noir from this tiny wine brand was made by Steve Davies, whose name is a recurring theme in Central Otago’s inner wine circle? The grapes in this wine were grown on a well chosen site; at Desert Heart vineyards, planted in 2000 at the base of Mt Difficulty on the banks of the Kawarau River in Bannockburn; a stone’s throw from where Davies’ own vineyard is today. Like most of Central’s 2007 Pinot Noirs, this is drinking beautifully and has plenty of time still to unfold. www.desertheart.co.nz   

2009 Doctors Flat 

Steve Davies is one of Central Otago’s inner circle winemakers and while his new Doctors Flat wines are a relatively small production brand - just 174 cases of this vintage were made – this is a producer to watch for high quality. Ripe fruit flavours are held in check by medium acids and tannins; which match the style of the fruit in this wine. It’s robust yet refined, spicy yet fruit-led. www.doctorsflat.co.nz  

2010 Doctors Flat Pinot Noir 

'Top newcomer' refers to the label, that is, not the winemaker; Steve Davies is a well seasoned Central Otago Pinot Noir maker and this is his new brand; an extremely tasty one too. Just 188 cases of this were made from three hectares of vines bordering the old Doctors Flat Mining Co site at Bannockburn. The 2010 year has already created a growing number of promisingly structured vintage of Central Otago Pinot Noirs. This wine is not yet on the market and won’t be for some time. www.doctorsflat.co.nz   

2010 Domain Road Vineyard Pinot Noir

Graeme and Gillian Crosbie commute between Dunedin and Central Otago; specifically, Domain Road, which is in Bannockburn and home to the vineyard from which this wine comes. It’s a tightly structured style, needing time to reveal itself – as is so often the case with good Pinot Noir and Burgundy too. I’m a fan of the smattering of whole bunches in this wine, which add some attractive perfumed fruitiness without dominating the style. www.domainroad.co.nz   

2009 Ellero Pisa Terrace Vineyard Pinot Noir

John Montero and Roberta Manell are old hands at making great Gewurztraminer and now they have turned their talents to Pinot Noir, these growers-turned winemakers are doing an impressive job. This is a beautifully open, fresh fruit driven style with silky tannins and approachability as a drink-young style. Top value and good drinking now. www.ellerowine.com   

2010 Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir

From 2009, winemaker Blair Walter and winery owner Nigel Greening have sensibly added the word ‘Bannockburn’ to their front label on this wine; it’s a small addition but a significant one for Central Otago, in which sub-regions are beginning to make their flavours known when grapes are in the hands of top winemakers, such as in this youthfully tannic Pinot Noir. Cellar this one. www.feltonroad.com   

2010 Felton Road Block 3 Pinot Noir

Planted in 1992, this hallowed vineyard is one of the top spots from which to make good Central Otago Pinot Noir. Top Central Otago winemaker Blair Walter is known for his whole bunch ferment styles; big, fruity, openly expressive Pinot Noirs, which are held together in an impressively balanced tannic structure. The 2010 vintage pays homage both to this style of winemaking and to what was clearly an excellent year. www.feltonroad.com   

2010 Georgetown Vineyard

Situated at the end of the Kawarau gorge on the site of a former town, this 1.5 hectare vineyard is hand tended by viticulturist Ian Dee, who made his first vintage in the excellent 2007 year. This 2010 wine has yet to be released – June-ish is the time – and it’s a lovely open fruit driven style with balance from medium acids and tannins. Quantities may be tiny from here but the quality is high – this is a vineyard and wine brand to watch. www.georgetown.co.nz   

2010 Gibbston Valley China Terrace Pinot Noir

Winemaker Christopher Keys now holds the winemaking reigns at Gibbston Valley winery; whose home vineyard is situated in the Gibbston Valley and was planted 29 years ago. The grapes in this wine come from Bendigo in the Cromwell basin; it’s a red fruit style with balanced medium acids and tannins; this is a wine to savour in time to come. Cellar it or be sure to decant well, if opening now. www.gibbstonvalleynz.com   

2009 Grasshopper Rock Pinot Noir This wine brand is owned by five families and the grapes are grown in an Alexandra sub-region, says co-owner Phil Handford. Production to date is relatively small – 2500 cases – and it’s only Pinot Noir that the families make. This one is a savoury wine with youthfully high acids and medium tannins. www.grasshopperrock.co.nz   

2010 Hawkshead Pinot Noir

From the heart of Bannockburn comes this bright, fresh and enormously fruity Pinot Noir, which has ‘cherries’ written all over its whole-bunch ferment style. Lots of texture and weight make this enormously appealing. It’s a good vintage and will age well. www.hawksheadwine.com  

2010 Maude Mt Maude Vineyard Pinot Noir

Talk about a youthful wine from winemaking couple Sarah-Kate and Dan Dineen. Right now this wine has high acids, medium to high tannin structure and is relatively youthful in fruit expression – yes, it needs more time in the bottle or a very good decant before approaching. It has lovely spice and red fruit characters and I look forward to revisiting it in time to come. www.maudewines.com 

Douglas Brett and Jane Young own this small wine brand; the first wines being made in 1999 and this vintage being made entirely from grapes grown in Bendigo, 15% of which were whole-bunch fermented, which adds a lifted fruitiness to the staunch tannins, in part derived from 38% new oak. www.36bottles.co.nz 

Outstanding wine 

2007 Mt Difficulty Single Vineyard Pipeclay Terrace Pinot Noir

One of my stars of the tasting, thanks to what appears almost universally to be an all-round good vintage but also thanks to the excellent, if typically understated, winemaking skills of Matt Dicey, who has harnessed this wine’s gorgeous red fruit expression in a medium to full bodied Pinot Noir with medium-plus acidity and a very smooth, long finish. www.mtdifficulty.co.nz   

2010 Mt Difficulty Pinot Noir

Released late last year, this is still a staunch young red with vibrant fruity aromas, medium to full body and a long spicy finish. It needs decanting or, even better, time to age in a good wine cellar. www.mtdifficulty.co.nz   

2010 Mud House Pinot Noir

It’s hard to believe this lovely silky, gorgeously fruit Pinot Noir is just $20; it won an ‘elite gold’ medal at the 2011 Air New Zealand Wine Awards and its soft, silky, smooth fruity upfront style comes from the use of just a smidgeon of oak – 10% - rather than the whopping amounts in so many red wines today. Talk about brave winemaking – and successful winemaking. This is absolutely outstanding, in terms of style, winemaking and value for money. www.mudhouse.co.nz  

2010 Northburn Station Pinot Noir 

Still 18 months away from release into the market, this wine is made with grapes grown on the eastern banks of Lake Dunstan, and has red and black fruit flavours of plums, cherries and spicy oak. www.northburn.co.nz  

2010 Peregrine Pinot Noir

This is the fifth time I have tried this wine, so I have been able to monitor what is often one of my favourites of the region – both at tastings and from purchasing this wine. It's good to see this vintage settling into its relatively robust, spicy and, this year, slightly oaky style. The grapes in this wine comes from both Gibbston Valley and the Cromwell basin. This is a medium bodied wine with medium acids and tannins and a slightly more full bodied style than the 2009. www.peregrinewines.co.nz   

2009 Pisa Moorings Pinot Noir

With its dark savoury fruit flavours, this wine may be a year older than many in the tasting but it has all the hallmarks of a youthful wine. The Pisa Moorings Vineyard was established in 1996 by Sue Stark, who employs Central Otago winemaker Dean Shaw to produce her Pinot Noirs. It’s top value at just $32 a bottle. Stark also makes the best South Island olive oil I’ve yet tried under her 4 Groves Olive Oil brand; quantities are miniscule, quality is superlative. www.pisamooringswine.co.nz   

2009 Pisa Range Estate Black Poplar Block Pinot Noir

Not to be confused with its almost identical namesake (above), Pisa Range Estate was one of the first Central vineyards planted on the Pisa Flats near Cromwell. Warwick and Jenny Hawker are members of the Bio-dynamic Association of NZ and this medium bodied, smooth bodied Pinot Noir is made by Rudi Bauer. www.pisarangeestate.co.nz   

2010 Prophet’s Rock Pinot Noir

A sneak preview of this wine, which won’t be out on the market for another year yet. This wine was not quite finished at the time of tasting but boasted bright vibrant fruit flavours and as it is from an excellent vintage (in this writer’s view), it’s looking like one to beat a path to this time next year. www.prophetsrock.co.nz   

2010 Quartz Reef Pinot Noir

This consistently high performing winery, owned by Rudi Bauer, takes its name from its most important vineyard site, which lies over the country’s biggest single quartz deposit. The new 2010 Quartz Reef Pinot Noir continues Bauer’s elegant theme of beautifully balanced tannin, acid and fruit structure; nothing dominates here, except for the youthfulness of the wine. Definitely one for the wine cellar. www.quartzreef.co.nz  

Here's another stand out from the excellent 2007 vintage; Surveyor Thomson (no relation) is drinking beautifully right now with layers of savoury, spice, even earthy flavours sitting alongside a vibrant fruit taste, which will continue to open up. Beautiful drinking now but it's easy to see this has lots of time up its sleeve too; in a good cellar.

2009 Wild Earth Pinot Noir

Diver turned winemaker Quintin Quider has something of Midas Touch with his Pinot Noirs; this is another openly fruity style but with mid palate depth and a savoury note that adds length and interest to the wine. Very good, especially at its price - $38 to $40 – which puts it at the top value end of the Central Otago spectrum. www.wildearthwines.co.nz   

2010 Wooing Tree Pinot Noir

Cromwell’s most recognisable winery is indeed marked by ‘the wooing tree’, which stands alone in the middle of an otherwise starkly flat landscape; the wine is also a stand out with fruit dominance leading this youthful, tight and somewhat closed wine right now. Decant or cellar; or both. www.wooingtree.co.nz