2011 Loveblock Pinot Noir

One of the difficulties of the wine blogging game is that there is a huge push for Valentine's Day, but all of the samples tend to arrive in the two weeks before the date. This one arrived early on, but I was still working through a backlog from the Christmas and New Year's rushes and did not get around to writing about it on time.

Loveblock is a project run by Kim & Erica Crawford, who are well-known in the New Zealand wine business. This is a smaller project with a focus on organic, sustainable, and even biodynamic elements involved in the production. The Pinot Noir comes from the mountainous Central Otago region at the south end of the Southern Island.

I haven't talked a lot about label design recently, but I love the dandelions on this one. I had a childhood fascination with the flower: blowing the little seeds off was fun, but the scent of the yellow flower heads brings back so many memories of playing in the yard, neighborhood baseball games, cookouts, and the other delights of summer. Years later I'd read Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine and see how a writer truly captured the magic of such a humble flower, and then in 2008 I got to try the actual beverage thanks to a small winery in Ohio's Amish country.

2011 Loveblock Pinot Noir
Central Otago, New Zealand
100% Pinot Noir
$20, 14.3% abv.

Crisp and tart and full of ripe raspberry, while some earthier undertones open up after a half hour of breathing. Gentle tannins and a soft finish. With our current winter weather, I made a big dish of spaghetti and homemade meatballs, and loved the combination while wrapped up in a blanket watching a good movie.

Note: This wine was provided as a sample for review.