If you’re planning a picnic, a barbeque or a garden party, then you’ve just found the red wine for it: Picnic Pinot Noir 2021. Owned by actor Sam Neill – of Jurassic Park, The Piano and Peaky Blinders fame – Two Paddocks is a rapidly up-and-coming organic wine estate in Central Otago, New Zealand. The handsome chap on the label is the proprietor’s grandfather Sydney Neill, who was a wine merchant in his day. This Pinot Noir is the perfect summer red. Wonderfully balanced – probably because it draws grapes from the three different sub-regions of Alexandra, Bannockburn and Gibbston – it offers juicy red and black cherries, wild strawberries, redcurrants and just a pinch of spice. An elegant little sipper for drinking in the great outdoors. Just keep an eye on your glass because if it starts to vibrate and ripple, there might be a Tyrannosaurus Rex at large.
Two Paddocks was founded in 1993 by Hollywood star Sam Neill with the modest ambition of producing Pinot Noir for his family and friends from five acres in Central Otago. The quality of the first vintage stunned him and his team, and the project has gathered momentum from there. Two Paddocks now comprises four plots, including some of the most southerly vineyards in the world, and regularly receives high scores from the critics. This success shouldn’t come as a surprise. Although born in Northern Ireland, the actor was raised in New Zealand’s wine country and his family have long dabbled in the importing of brandy and Marsala, so really this is in Sam Neill’s blood. His passion comes through in his refined wines and the estate is committed to organic principles (certified by BioGro) and creating beautiful vineyards that will remain a legacy for future generations. Two Paddocks and its wines also have a wonderful sense of fun; Sam Neill’s blog and Twitter feed are laugh out loud funny and the animals that roam his vineyards, providing much of the organic compost, are named after celebrities who have crossed the proprietor’s path during his career. So, if you visit, you might run into Imogen Poots the saddleback sow, a cow called Helena Bonham Carter and her calf Graham Norton, or maybe even Angelica Huston and Susan Sarandon the sheep.
SKU No.: 4117201
Style No.: 950627
Region: Central Otago
Grapes: Pinot Noir
Closure: Screw
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 13%
Volume: 750ml
Allergens: Sulphites