Stoneleigh Marlborough Pinot Noir – Hunt For The Best Pinot Noir Under $20

100% Pinot Noir from Marlborough, New Zealand.

SRP of $15 and available for around $12. Sample received courtesy the winemaker for review purposes.

From the bottle:

“Smooth stones characterize the Stoneleigh vineyards in Marlborough. By day, these stones reflect heat to enhance ripening, while the cool night air captures crisp fruit flavors.

Winemaker’s comments: This wine displays a fragrant bouquet of red berry fruit, coupled with savory spice from ageing in new and seasoned oak barrels for 8 months. The sweet, soft and supple palate is balanced with fine velvety tannins to give the wine depth and structure to mature.

Serving suggestions: Best enjoyed with succulent meat dishes, particularly duck, spring lamb, game and veal.

14.0% Alcohol”

This is our second wine in the Hunt for the Best Pinot Noir Under $20 series and this time we travel to New Zealand. And while New Zealand is probably best known for Sauvignon Blanc they also produce a lot of good Pinot Noir. We’ll review a couple of wines from New Zealand in this series but first up is the 2009 Stoneleigh Marlborough Pinot Noir. The wine begins with light aromas of red cherry, raspberry, rose petals and some earthy notes. The red cherry and raspberry fruit carries over when tasting but this wine also has a good dose of spice and green vegetal notes that linger on the finish. A bit different than your standard Pinot Noir, but quite good nonetheless.

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.

All ratings use a simple 10 point scale with 10 being the best. Find out more about my rating systemhere and check out the Interactive Wine Rating Chart to find all my reviews! You can sort by type of wine, cost, rating, etc. in the interactive spreadsheet.

Wines in the Hunt For The Best Pinot Noir Under $20 Series:
2008 Stone Wolf Vineyards Willamette Valley Barrel Select Cuvée Pinot Noir
2009 Stoneleigh Marlborough Pinot Noir
2009 Smoking Loon Pinot Noir
2007 Seufert Winery Pinot Noir Cuvée
2010 McManis Family Vineyards Pinot Noir
2009 Red Rock Reserve Pinot Noir
2010 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Noir
2009 Dashwood Marlborough Pinot Noir
2008 Robin K. Central Coast Pinot Noir