Why New Zealand's pinot noir is the stuff of fantasies

telegraph.co.uk:

Escarpment Kupe Single Vineyard Pinot Noir. I tried the 2019 (Waitrose Cellar, £39) recently and it was incredible – a hint of petrichor (that ground-after-rain smell) on the nose, then dark cherry fruit and finesse.

Waitrose also lists McKenna’s Escarpment Noir (£14.99 down from £17.99 from 23 March to 19 April).Cross the famously perilous waters of the Cook Strait and you reach the South Island and the wine region of Marlborough, famous for its piercing sauvignon blanc, but it also makes high-toned (think soprano), silky and aromatic pinot noir that’s often redolent of red cherries with a floral note too.

Nautilus Southern Valleys Pinot Noir 2017 Marlborough, NZ (New Zealand House of Wine, £24.99; The Wine Society, £19) is a glorious example – fragrant, slightly herbaceous, free-flowing.Heading out of Marlborough, west around the coast, you come to Tasman Bay and the region of Nelson.

I once drove here from Blenheim in Marlborough and did such a bad job of setting the satnav that I ended up at a residential house, presumably the destination of the last person to hire the car.