Giesen Clayvin Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2014
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine &
Spirits -
Wine
Spectator
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This Single Vineyard Clayvin Pinot Noir is earthy, with wild strawberry and red cherry. It’s restrained with good intensity and a structured foundation, finishing with great length.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The pedigree of the vineyard speaks loudly on the nose with beautifully fresh, spiced red cherries, light herbal notes and a gently earthy thread. The palate has a deeply concentrated feel with a wealth of intense, ripe cherries and an almost unendingly long finish. Superb pinot.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I was charmed by the captivating nose of the 2014 Single Vineyard Selection Clayvin Pinot Noir. It's all roses, tea, dusty earth and cherries. Medium to full-bodied, the fruit is ripe, the tannins are silky and the finish lingers for what seems like minutes. It's a lovely effort that should continue to drink well through 2025.
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Wine & Spirits
This grows at an organically farmed vineyard in the loam and clay soils of the Brancott Valley. It’s fermented as whole berries with a little whole-bunch inclusion, and no added yeast. While it spent 13 months in 300-liter French oak barrels, some new, some one year old, the wine is still a little reductive, with pointedly fresh and persistent red raspberry flavors and black raspberry tannins. It feels firm and tastes pure, well suited to aging.
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Wine Spectator
Plump plum, star anise and juicy cherry flavors are plush and detailed, with velvety tannins and plenty of spice notes on the finish. Drink now through 2023.
Other Vintages
2016-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Tasting
Panel -
The Somm
Journal -
Robert
Parker
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James
Suckling - Decanter
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James
Suckling -
Wilfred
Wong
From the Estate Range to the Single Vineyard Series, Giesen delivers stylish wines that showcase the riches of Marlborough.
Proudly family-owned by three brothers Theo, Alex and Marcel since 1981. Originally from Germany, today the Giesen brothers are the proprietors of 13 vineyards located throughout the highly sought after Wairau Valley, a subregion of Marlborough. The vineyards spread across the length & breadth of the valley giving a range of grape growing conditions and flavor. 20% of Giesen vineyards are certified organic or in transition.
The Giesens are the leading buyers of German 1,000 liter Fuder barrels in New Zealand. The Fuders are coveted in winemaking for the lees influence (due to large dimension across the bottom of the barrel) as well as the lighter oak toasting – which provides an aromatic sweetness. Giesen is known and respected for showcasing Marborough’s unique vineyard and vintage characteristics and to delivering superb vine-to-bottle quality across the range
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.