2023 Staete Landt Map Maker Marlborough Pinot Noir

The Map Maker Marlborough Pinot Noir from Staete Landt is a delicious expression of the famous Pinot Noir grapes from New Zealand. This wine radiates a deep ruby red color and offers inviting aromas of ripe red berries, black cherries, subtle hints of spice and a touch of earthiness. On the palate it delivers a harmonious balance of fruit and acidity, with a grainy tannin structure.

Staete Landt Vineyard s

Dutchman Ruud Maasdam emigrated to New Zealand in 1996 to start his own wine estate. After extensive research, each plot was planted with a specific wine style in mind. For years now, this has produced very individual, characteristic wines of an exceptionally high quality that have certainly not escaped the attention of the international wine press.

Marlborough

Marlborough, located on the northernmost tip of the South Island, is home to at least half of New Zealand's vineyards. The region is very much in the spotlight in the international wine world. That is quite an achievement when you consider that there was no professional wine growing here until 1973. It was not until around 1980 that the first bottles of Sauvignon Blanc came onto the market; they were immediately well received. Australians David Hohnen and Kevin Judd saw so much potential in the wine region that they started the Cloudy Bay estate and dared to market their wines on a large scale. In 2007, Marlborough had over 11,000 hectares of wine land and the number of winemakers in the area had grown to more than 100. However, they have never done mass production. Quality is more important than quantity; this makes the wines expensive, but customers are happy to pay for them. It is a combination of factors that makes the region so incredibly interesting: Marlborough has long days, cool nights, a bright sun and a mild, dry autumn. In this climate the wines get the characteristic 'Kiwi style': lots of sugars, but very refreshing due to (thanks to) the high acids. Of course the alluvial soil (fertile due to the river silt) full of clays also plays a role in the creation of this ideal terroir. The most commonly used grape varieties are the sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, but beautiful wines are also made from riesling and pinot gris. The pinot noir seems to be the great promise of Marlborough; it thrives fantastically in the climate that is so similar to that of Burgundy.