2010 Schubert Block B Pinot Noir

Martinborough, Wairarapa, NZ

$50 (If you can find it)

A little background on this one….I first had this wine in their tasting room in the small town of Martinborough outside of Wellington on the southern tip of the Northern Island of NZ. It blew my mind over 10 years ago and I have been struggling to find it until now. Thanks to the powers of social media I was connected with Kai Schubert of, you guessed it, Schubert wines. After some gentle prodding I was put in touch with the US distributor. I then had my local wine shop, the always amazing Whispering Vine, place an order and voila! It was delivered within a week or two.

Now for the wine itself. Beautifully aged with lots of fruit still showing. Killer representation of this somewhat unknown pocket of wine country. Per Kai, “2010 yields were very low due to late frosts which led to quite intense wines with very good structure. A wine that can age very well!” This beauty is one that can be drank on its own or enjoyed with a great piece of salmon or even pork tenderloin.

For those that have not ventured into the realm of NZ Pinot Noir, this is by no means an entry level wine. However, for the price point I would go for it all day long. Its a splurge wine for a special occasion indeed, but well worth the up front expense to let it age a bit longer.

Looking forward to my next bottle….hoping someday that it will be shared with Kai in his tasting room again.