Pale to medium ruby colored, the 2006 Pinot Noir One by One gives intense red cherry, red flower and red currant aromas with nuances of fallen leaves, tree bark and a touch of cinnamon stick. Medium bodied, there’s a medium level of fine grained tannins and crisp acid supporting the generous red berry and spice flavors, finishing long. It’s a beautiful glass now though it has the capacity to develop over the next 4-6 years. Holger Reinecke came to Central Otago in the late 1990s on a mission to find the ideal location to produce high quality Pinot Noir. Eventually he settled on a steep hillside property in the remote Ardgour Valley, 10 kilometers south of Tarras and very close to the Lindis River. He was the first to establish vineyards in this sub-region in 2000. Opting to commit the north-east facing slopes to high density plantings of 6000 to 10,000 vines per hectare (as is common in Burgundy), he has established 5 individual blocks, including the ‘One by One’ that has vines laid at 1 meter by 1 meter. His converted wool shed house (the property was once a sheep station or farm), is nestled at the bottom of the 3.5 hectare (9.5 acres) hillside vineyard, allowing Holger to hand nurture his vines like children. Unsurprisingly, organic farming is practiced here. As Holger and I carefully descended the vertiginous path dividing the blocks I could see the yet unpruned, dense mass of young vertically shoot positioned vines represented not just a lot of work for this one very determined vigneron, they heralded a new level of Pinot for Central Otago. I very much look forward to following the progress of this property. Lindis River currently does not have a USA importer.