Taking cues from Pinot Noir's spiritual homeland of Burgundy, the Rippon estate makes naturally pure and expressive wines, but they do it from the shore of a glacial lake, named Wanaka, at the foot of the Southern Alps. Just looking at the landscape, it's no surprise that this is a place for distinctive wines: cold nights and extra-long, temperate days throughout Summer imbue the wines with layers of intense, crystalline aromas and sleek textures energized by a mouthwatering, crunchy-fruited edge.
The Rippon estate was a labor of love for founders Rolfe and Lois Mills since the Central Otago didn't have the booming commercial wine scene it does today. After some toes-in-the-water trials, the couple planted their first Pinot Noir vines in 1982, making it Central Otago's first commercial vineyard in around 100 years. Given the mostly untouched landscape, it was only appropriate that they farmed organically from the start. When their son Nick took up the torch in the early 2000s, he brought lessons learned from his time in Burgundy (Domaine Confuron and Domaine de la Romanee-Conti) and Alsace (Albert Mann) to the vine-growing and winemaking at Rippon, even making it a certified biodynamic estate. The vitality in the soils and maturity of the vines give Rippon's wines great natural depth and grace, though bottle production is naturally quite limited.
JAMES SUCKLING 97 POINTS - "Extremely perfumed with a pretty ripeness and clarity, offering plums and al-dente strawberries. Some cantaloupe, too. It's medium- to full-bodied with juicy fruit that's lovely and open. You want to drink it now. And do. Crunchy yet velvety and caressing in the mouth-feel from the lovely, open tannins. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Best in a year or two, but right on."
The Rippon estate was a labor of love for founders Rolfe and Lois Mills since the Central Otago didn't have the booming commercial wine scene it does today. After some toes-in-the-water trials, the couple planted their first Pinot Noir vines in 1982, making it Central Otago's first commercial vineyard in around 100 years. Given the mostly untouched landscape, it was only appropriate that they farmed organically from the start. When their son Nick took up the torch in the early 2000s, he brought lessons learned from his time in Burgundy (Domaine Confuron and Domaine de la Romanee-Conti) and Alsace (Albert Mann) to the vine-growing and winemaking at Rippon, even making it a certified biodynamic estate. The vitality in the soils and maturity of the vines give Rippon's wines great natural depth and grace, though bottle production is naturally quite limited.
JAMES SUCKLING 97 POINTS - "Extremely perfumed with a pretty ripeness and clarity, offering plums and al-dente strawberries. Some cantaloupe, too. It's medium- to full-bodied with juicy fruit that's lovely and open. You want to drink it now. And do. Crunchy yet velvety and caressing in the mouth-feel from the lovely, open tannins. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Best in a year or two, but right on."
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