Pinot Noir Trophy goes to Burnt Spur Martinborough

On Saturday night Martinborough Vineyard was awarded the Pinot Noir Trophy at this years’ New Zealand International Wine Show for the second year in a row. 

This year their single vineyard 2007 Burnt Spur Pinot Noir took top honours from over 250 Pinot Noirs entered. This follows on from their Martinborough Vineyard Te Tera 2007 Pinot Noir triumph at last years show.

2007 was the first vintage in charge for both winemaker Paul Mason and viticulturist Pete Wilkins and the results have been outstanding.

This Trophy also follows on the heels of Martinborough Vineyard collecting the Pinot Noir Trophy for the Martinborough Vineyard 2007 Pinot Noir at the Tri Nations challenge the week prior, meaning every Pinot Noir produced by them in 2007 has won a trophy.

 “It’s been a great run lately” says Mason “this shows what an amazing vintage 2007 was – I just wish there was more of it. The vineyard team did a great job getting everything right and the winemaking team have produced some great wines as a result”. 

Martinborough Vineyard has a long history of accolades and achievements dating back to the first vintage in the 1980’s. These recent results build on the impressive history and achievements of the vineyard and makes the future look very bright.

Wilkins says the Burnt Spur vineyard south of Martinborough shows a genuine ‘terroir’ difference from the more stony Martinborough Terraces from which the Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir is drawn. “We treat our blocks very individually to make sure we’re getting the best out of the vines in each area”.

The New Zealand International Wine Show is the largest wine competition in New Zealand and this year’s competition was conducted under the chairmanship of Master of Wine, Bob Campbell.