14.9% Waipara, New Zealand (cork sealed) Tasted at 25 years. I’ve often found New Zealand Pinotage, as rare as it is, more interesting than South African, simply because NZ’s cooler climate shaped it more toward Pinot Noir than Cinsault. This one is rare, having hidden in my cellar for decades I expected it to be near dead. Far from it. Much more mature Burgundian than Rhonish or African, it offered up hay, spice and leather infused mature red fruit characters, leaning toward cooked strawberry and cherry jam notes. Silky smooth and continuous in the mouth with complex flavors continuing throughout the finish. A very long, very complex, very interesting. I recall Pinot Noir focused Belinda Gould, former winemaker at California’s Calera Jensen, telling me she hated the grape, but Muddy Water’s owner, who loved it, forced a great winemaker to treat it like Pinot. I’m glad he did. 18.5/20 Tasted 2.25