2013 Main Divide Pinot Noir Waipara Valley New Zealand 750 ml

Burgundian Approach — Singular Microclimate — Terrific Value

Sometimes, an opportunity arises out of pure luck. And it was a lucky call that gave us the chance to offer today’s 2013 Main Divide Pinot Noir — a rare find Stateside. James Suckling, Wine Spectator’s former European bureau chief, rated this “terrific value” 93 points even before we got the call from our importer friend — the distributor had reneged on an agreement. We knew it was an unmissable opportunity for Wine Access clients.

Tucked away in Canterbury, a province in New Zealand’s South Island, about a 30-minute drive north of Christchurch, is the cool microclimate of Waipara Valley, home to a Burgundian-style winemaking project like no other. Vineyards rooted in Waipara Valley’s hot interior along the Southern Alps are tempered by cooling breezes off the frigid waters of Pegasus Bay, while temperatures drop nearly 40 degrees. Main Divide’s husband-and-wife duo Matthew Donaldson and Lynnette Hudson take full advantage of all these factors to craft limited-production, age-worthy Pinot Noirs from the region.

The 2013 growing season in Waipara Valley opened with a mild spring, followed by a warm summer with occasional rain to cool off the vines, and it finished with a dry autumn; the end result was absolutely pristine fruit. As with the Donaldsons’ flagship estate, Pegasus Bay, winemaking at Main Divide adheres to a strictly Burgundian approach — clusters are destemmed and whole-berry fermented by ambient yeasts in small vats, with gentle hand-punchdowns. After gentle pressing of the wine into small oak barriques, of which 30 percent is new, the Pinot ages 12-18 months before bottling.  

As luck would have it, we were happy to help out an importer friend in a tight spot. We’re even luckier to pass this incredible value Pinot Noir on to you, which on any other day, would be  incredibly difficult to find in the U.S.