Thistle Ridge Waipara Pinot Noir 2013 “Best of the best”

Thistle Ridge Waipara Pinot Noir 2013 “Best of the best”

Champion Red at New World Wine Awards 2014

Thistle Ridge Pinot Noir 2013 -grown, produced and bottled by award winning Waipara winery Greystone has been given the honour of “Champion Red Wine” at the recent New World Wine Awards.

The quality of the winning Thistle Ridge wine shone in a year where entries were the highest ever (1165 wines). Scored using the international 20point scoring system the judging panel, a group of 13 carefully selected and well respected judges lead by the internationally experienced Chair of Judges Jim Harre identified those wines of gold and silver medal quality. These were then re-tasted to determine the Champion Wine, or the “best of the best”. Voted the best Pinot Noir, and Champion Red wine of 2014, beating Pinot Noirs from Central Otago, Marlborough and Martinborough to claim the award the Thistle Ridge Pinot Noir 2013 is described as “a very classy wine that ticks all the boxes, and is a wine you will only want to share with your favourite person. Extraordinary value at this price”.

Winemaker Dominic Maxwell is quick to identify the key to the success of the New World Wine Awards – value. “Winning the Champion Red for 2014 is a great achievement and salutes the incredible work of the vineyard team. To grow such flavoursome fruit for a Pinot Noir that retails under $25.00 is a great achievement. We pride ourselves on using traditional winemaking techniques for this wine and adhere to a gentle handling philosophy so the wines finer points can be expressed in the glass.”

Credit for the flavours exhibited in the glass can be attributed to the unique limestone based soil profile found on the Thistle Ridge vineyard and the greater Waipara Valley– as much as it can be attributed to Maxwell and his team. Waipara has fast become a region to watch and is a serious player when it comes to producing stunning wine.
A remarkable 3 out of the top 8 Pinot Noirs at the new World Wine Awards were from Waipara producers, with Sherwood Estate and Main Divide joining the award winning Thistle Ridge wine. This was the most from any single New Zealand region with Central Otago and Marlborough having only two, and Martinborough just one wine featured in the top 8. Waipara Valley Winegrowers’ Geoff Shier states, “The continuing ability of Waipara Valley Pinot Noirs to win significant local and international awards is testament to the micro-climate, the soils and the winemaking skills concentrated in the North Canterbury region”.

Not just a region producing wines of value – it also is home to some of the finest Pinot Noir in the world. Greystone’s ‘The Brothers’ Reserve’ was rated above Pinot Noirs from Burgundy and around the globe to take away the prestigious “Best International Pinot Noir trophy” at the 2014 Decanter World Wine Awards in London.

For more information, or to secure a bottle of the Champion Red wine visit your local New World store, or find it online at http://www.newworld.co.nz/, or at www.thistleridge.co.nz. Sales and marketing manager Nik Mavromatis can be contacted at info@thomaswines.co.nz.

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