Rockburn Pinot Noir 2013 and 2014 have been awarded Gold at The Drinks Business Global Pinot Noir Masters in the UK.
The Central Otago boutique producer once again made its mark on the world stage, picking up two of the three gold medals awarded to Central Otago producers in the 20-30 GBP price bracket at this extensive international blind tasting.
General Manager, Paul Donaghy commented on this achievement: “It’s fantastic to see that our flagship wine is not only highly rated here in New Zealand but on par with some of the world’s greatest Pinot Noirs. Michael Cooper rated the 2013 vintage just recently 5 stars and with this fantastic result we look particularly forward to releasing the 2014 vintage in a few weeks time in June/July.”
An expert panel of judges consisting of nine Masters of Wine and one Master Sommelier and chaired by The Drinks Business editor-in-chief Patrick Schmitt MW assessed the 100 per cent Pinot Noir entries on February the 18th.
In a crowded wine competition arena, The Drinks Business Global Pinot Noir Masters is in its third year and stands out for its assessment of wines purely by grape variety rather than region. Divided only by price bracket and, for ease of judging, whether the style was oaked or unoaked, the blind tasting format allows wines to be assessed without prejudice about their country of origin. The wines are scored out of 100, with those gaining more than 95 points being awarded the top title of Master. Those earning more than 90 points are given a gold medal.
