A perky pinot with a silky palate

published 9 September 2013

2011 Zephyr, Pinot Noir, Marlborough, New Zealand (about £15, Bacchanalia, 01223-315034, www.winegod.co.uk; DeFINE Food & Wine, 01606-882101, www.definefoodandwine.com; www.theknottedvine.com).

Forty years ago, on 24 August 1973, the first vines (of the modern era) were planted at Brancott Estate (formerly Montana), in Marlborough. Since then, this region has gone ballistic. These days there is an ocean of sauvignon blanc sloshing out of Marlborough every year, but it is the pinot noirs which have really caught my eye and I am certain that Marlborough is the most improved area in New Zealand for this alluring variety.

Zephyr is one of the newer labels and it is really on song. The Glover Family Vineyards were established in 1985, at Dillons Point near Blenheim, and Ben Glover (ex-Wither Hills and currently with Mud House) makes his family's wines with real style and grace. Aromatically superb, with bright cherry purity and hints of spice, the sleek, silky palate runs on beautifully to a lifted, perky finish, and it has a lovely momentum throughout.

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It's a wine that would wow fans of Burgundian stalwarts Givry, Santenay or Monthlie, given its dimensions, and you will save a tenner every time you drink Zephyr rather than a French version, too!

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (www.matthewjukes.com).

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’. He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner.

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.