Trophy – Champion Open Red Wine: Rockburn Pinot Noir 2006 & 2007 Air New Zealand Wine Awards 2007/2008
Trophy for Best Pinot Noir: Rockburn Pinot Noir 2009 Shanghai International Wine Challenge 2010
Trophies for Best Pinot Noir & Wine of Show: Rockburn Pinot Noir 2009 Australian Boutique Winemakers Awards 2010
Trophies for Best New World Riesling: Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit Competition 2011
We know full well that you can’t get too carried away when it comes to wine show awards. But when a wine repeatedly wins major trophies in top shows, it’s usually worth a look.
As you can see from the above, the recently arrived 2009 Rockburn Pinot Noir has already won two major trophies including the Trophy for Best Wine of Show at the Australian Boutique Winemakers Awards 2010. At these awards, Huon Hooke, Chairman of Judges stated: “… the Pinot Noir class was truly outstanding. It clearly demonstrated the superior quality of New Zealand success with this variety... The winning [Rockburn] wine is an excellent example... A superb wine.” The success of the 2009 follows on from previous vintages of Rockburn Pinot that have also repeatedly won awards and praise. Perhaps most significantly, both the 2006 and 2007 Rockburn Pinot Noirs won the Trophy for Champion Open Red Wine at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards. The consistent high quality of this wine is a testament to Rockburn’s superb vineyard holdings and to winemaker Malcolm Rees-Francis who joined Rockburn in 2005 following a four-year stint at Felton Road.
If there was any doubt before, there shouldn’t be now: Rockburn Pinot Noir belongs in the top echelon of New Zealand Pinot. And all this at a fraction of the price (sub-$25 LUC!) you pay for the most famous names of Central Otago or NZ in general.
Rockburn takes its name from the rugged, rock-strewn landscape of Central Otago. The vineyards are bound on the west by mountains whose seaward slopes receive 5000mm of rain a year while to the east is a barren, moon-like landscape that receives less than 25mm. Rockburn sits between these extremes and produces Pinot Noir of stunning quality, as well as some very fine Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris and an attention grabbing Sauvignon Blanc.
The value Pinot Noir from Rockburn. It's full of black Doris plums, some toasty oak and bramble fruit crème brûlée. Fleshy plump and very well priced. In 2009, this is a terrific value.
This Pinot picked up some great accolaides since its release. Most recently, at the 2012 Sydney Wine Show, it received a Blue-Gold Award in the Pinot category. It displays some savoury, earthy... read more
Sourced from Rockburn's Central Otago vineyards, this wine has sensual black Doris plums, blueberries and bramble fruit. The 2011 bottling combines freshness with juicy, ripe tannins and luscious... read more
The 2008 vintage delivered perfectly ripe Chardonnay fruit, which has been subtly enhanced with minimal use of oak. The nose shows taut minerality with notes of lemons, peaches, limes and poached... read more
2011 delivered good yields that allowed for selective picking of the very best fruit and this is another quality Gris from Malcolm Malcolm Rees-Francis and the Rockburn massive. Bright stonefruit... read more
Fruit from theParkburn (Cromwell Basin) vineyard is used to make this classically styled off-dry Riesling. Nectarine and mandarin notes dominate the intensely fruity nose of this wine in its youth,... read more
Fruit from our Parkburn (Cromwell Basin) Vineyard is used to make this classically styled off-dry Riesling. Lemons and mandarins dominate the intensely fruity nose of this wine in its youth, and... read more
This medium-sweet Riesling, inspired by the Spätlese wines of Germany, is produced from Rockburn's Parkburn (Cromwell Basin) Vineyard. 2011 proved to be a great year to play with the fruit and push... read more