"Attractively perfumed nose with dark fruits, savoury notes and dusty, pencil shavings. Those savoury and dark fruit notes flow through the richly textural palate, which remains light on its feet with lovely freshness. Finely balanced, the dark fruits hang on the long close, which has a chewy crunchiness. Superb stuff that builds in power over time" Mark Henderson, Otago Daily Times, Feb 2018

"Light ruby-red. Firm and intense strawberry and red cherry fruit form a good core with piquant fragrance. Rich with real vibrancy, a core of bright cherry and strawberry fruit. The tannin extraction very fine and powdery, with balanced, soft acidity. Classical Bannockburn wine with fine style, and a degree of understatement, but it delivers all expected" Raymond Chan, Pinot Noir 2017 Conference, February 2017

"This 2015 expression has settled into its work beautifully. The introduction is low key, but it builds quietly yet impressively as it crosses the palate. Dark fruit laced with vanillin oak notes are framed by flowing tannins. 'Wonderful fruit density with a serious undercarriage' noted John Belsham" Cuisine Magazine, New Zeland Pinot Noir Tasting, May 2018

The Carrick Bannockburn Pinot Noir is known for its structure and its ability to age well over a long period of time. With the 2015 Vintage we are seeing an immediate abundance of fragrance in the glass underpinned by a silkiness in the tannin structure that integrates nicely with nice oak spice. This vintage is in the same realms as 2011, another complex vintage with great potential for cellaring.

Carrick has always been about place. The name derives from the gold mining town and the mountain range to which Carrick looks. The wines are of Central Otago and its subregion, Bannockburn. Carrick's own vineyards are nestled around the winery and every effort is made to allow the wines to express their place and their providence.

The vineyards are tended by hand allowing for careful management of the individual vines from pruning, leaf plucking, shoot-thinning right through to harvesting. The wine is fermented in small open top fermenters, and typically has a 5-7 day pre-ferment cold soak, with punch downs throughout fermentation, then 5-7 days extended maceration. All parcels are wild yeast ferments with about 10% being whole bunches. The wine is matured for 12 months in French oak, of which about 15% is new. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally in the spring – The three lots are individually evaluated barrel by barrel, then blended before bottling without fining or filtration.