Top Drops From A Small Region

By Joelle Thomson

October 24, 2024

When Martinborough winemaker Tim Bourne is tasked with releasing four top-shelf wines each year, he can choose to weave a story about winemaking, vineyards or – the elephant in the room – the weather. It can be a giant elephant to address when the weather gods don’t play nicely, which was the case in 2022 in many New Zealand wine regions. This means it was a challenging year to make wine from red grapes, which need to spend longer on the vine than white ones to gain colour and ripen.

Despite one of the wettest years in memory, 2022 does appear on the label of some excellent wines. Those that winemaker Tim Bourne represents are a case in point. They come from the Escarpment Vineyard in the windswept majesty of Te Muna Valley, nine kilometres east of Martinborough village. Te Muna is a growing wine region in its own right and is home to the single-vineyard pinot noirs labelled Kupe, Pahi and Kiwa. The fourth single-vineyard pinot, Te Rehua, is made from grapes grown on a small plot in Martinborough village.

These wines have been made every year since their inaugural release in 2006. The latest release is the third vintage that Bourne has made at Escarpment’s new winery building on the established vineyard site. The new facility has more space and capacity, making wine production smoother all around, especially when Mother Nature gives winemakers a year such as 2022.

“A lot of blood, sweat and tears (not literally) has gone into the production of these wines, and we are thrilled to unveil them to our loyal fan base and to make them known further afield,” says Bourne, who also makes a fleshy chardonnay with a beautiful balance of acidity, giving it more than a passing resemblance to chablis.”

Try these top picks

2022 Escarpment Kupe, RRP $115

A cooler-than-typical year in 2022 gives this wine elegant fruit purity and fresh acidity, lending a long finish to its powerful, full-bodied style. All of the grapes in Kupe come from the home-block vineyard in front of the winery, and all are the highly prized Abel clone of pinot noir, which gives this wine depth and concentration. After pressing, the wine was aged in 42 percent new French oak barriques for 20 months and then bottled without fining or filtration, promoting purity and balance. The aim is to make a statement with this pinot noir, which can age for 10 years. 

2022 Escarpment Pahi, RRP $85

This is a commanding and beautifully silky expression of pinot noir with lifted fruit aromas, leading into a savoury, full-bodied, youthful wine. Despite being from a tricky vintage, it is one of the best pinot noirs I have tasted all year. It is the third vintage of Pahi from the outstanding vineyard opposite Escarpment Winery on Te Muna Road. (The wine was formerly made from a vineyard near Martinborough village.) It was aged in French oak barriques (30 percent new oak) for 20 months and bottled without fining or filtration.

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