2019 Kusuda Pinot Noir

Hiro Kusuda was born in Tokyo where he worked as a lawyer before a stint in Australia. Along the way his love affair with wine and winemaking grew, and eventually he set off to complete his studies at Geisenheim in Germany before moving to Martinborough in New Zealand to make hand crafted Pinot Noir. Kusuda is known for attention to detail, to the point that each berry is picked individually at harvest by his Japanese friends that fly out each year to assist. Naturally this precision comes at a cost, in particular the miniscule volumes produced, and as such stocks are extremely limited.

Other Reviews....
Full bottle 1,408 g. Just 4,076 bottles produced. 10% whole bunch. Aged for 16 months in French oak barriques (21% new) and bottled after a coarse filtration and no fining.
Pale garnet, not quite star bright. Very pale rim. Correct violets and mushrooms on the nose. Still quite youthful with some concentration of flavour and a finish that is bone dry, suggesting a little light tannin tucked in for future development. Delicate texture. Ideally hang on to this until next year. Drink 2022 - 2027.
17+/20 points
Jancis Robinson MW