2017 Dog Point Vineyard Pinot Noir Marlborough 750 ml

Every time the shimmering, ruby-hued Dog Point Pinot Noir hits our glasses, we try to pin down why we love it so much. It’s no easy task. Yes, it has the concentration and forest floor complexity that all blue-chip Pinots do. Critics like James Suckling have labeled it “all you want in a great Pinot Noir,” and it easily ranks among the top Pinots in the world from a value perspective—$35 is almost unfair for this level of refinement. But these accolades are just the start. 

Made by Cloudy Bay alums and Dog Point founders Ivan Sutherland and James Healy, the cool-climate Pinot shows breathtaking freshness, plus the depth of flavor offered by nearly 50-year-old vines planted in sloping hillsides carved by glaciers. You simply can’t fake this pedigree.

The deliciousness and purity of this wildly aromatic Pinot Noir was enough to keep us quiet, and keep us sipping. As James Suckling wrote in his 95-point review, “This is very convincing, complex and downright impressive Pinot Noir. The intense aromas of ripe cherries and plums are framed in such intensely attractive oak spice and earthy, sous-bois complexity. The palate has regal, polished and powerful tannin and carries a vibrant core of very attractive, rich dark cherries.” 

This is a singular Pinot Noir, made by two masters in one of the top up-and-coming growing regions in the world. Even before the price it’s a cellar superstar, and a trip to the far reaches of the wine trail—on a budget. 

On the northeastern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, Dog Point Vineyard occupies a magical patch of sun-kissed land near where the Brancott and Omaka Valleys converge. Dog Point’s vineyards were among the very first planted here back in the 1970s, and feature some of the oldest vines in the mountain-crowned Marlborough region.

Sutherland and Healy, known for their old-school style and savvy, lead this benchmark estate. The men first met at iconic Cloudy Bay Vineyards, where over the course of two decades, they helped engineer New Zealand’s stunning ascent on the global stage, transforming Cloudy Bay into perhaps the best-known New Zealand winery in the world.

In 2003, the duo broke off and formed the Dog Point label, returning to the vines that Sutherland himself had helped plant over 30 years before. Both men were intimately familiar with the vineyards, and knew that the clay loam of Dog Point’s gentle hillsides, carved thousands of years ago by glaciers, were perfect for the cool-climate Pinot grape. They knew about the area’s abundant sunshine (2,200 hours a year), the brisk ocean breezes, and the maritime climate—all factors that provide an elongated season resulting in massive ripeness and extraordinary phenolic maturity.

Those conditions, coupled with New Zealand’s abrupt diurnal temperature shifts, help explain the lavish wild-berry concentration and electrifying acid backbone of the 2017 Dog Point Pinot Noir. 

For those who have yet to experience Dog Point, take this opportunity to lock in a case of one of the most stunning and unique expressions that noble Pinot Noir can take. For those already in the know, we’ll simply say, enjoy.