Three pinots that will satisfy

You don't have to be kinky to enjoy a three-way occasionally. In fact, I'd encourage anyone with a bit of taste to get out there and get among it. I'm talking of course about a pinot three-way, and Rockburn Wines are definitely set to satisfy.
First, wrap your lips around a sip of Stolen Kiss Pinot Rose 2010, $20 (4/5). Ballet-shoe pink and scented with watermelon, raspberry and rose petal aromas, it has a lovely creaming soda and stewed rhubarb tang on the finish.
Then it's time to move on to something a little more serious, so linger longer over a glass or two of Rockburn Central Otago Pinot Noir 2008, $40 (5/5). One sip and it will become blindingly obvious why this is one of New Zealand's most highly awarded examples.
It is seductive, earthy and perfumed with fragrant spices, dried herbs and smoky notes. In the mouth it is fleshy, plump and silky while leaving solid, textural tannins. Although if you prefer your partners a little younger, then get in line to taste the 2009 version. Already the proud owner of a stack of gold medals and trophies at influential shows from here to China, it's expected out in the New Year.
If you didn't think things could get much better, in walks the Rockburn Twelve Barrels Pinot Noir 2009, $85 (5/5). The only way I can begin to describe this wine is by saying that it's as if they bottled James Bond, or possibly one of those male models in magazine aftershave ads. Totally beguiling, and seductively scented with rosemary, anise, black cherry and all sorts of deliciously masculine aromas like leather, smoke and a dusty carpenter's workshop. In the mouth it has spicy notes like clove and mace with hints of black tea and rhubarb. Succulent and slippery in texture, and with noticeable grip and persistence on its immaculately satisfying finish it is, what I always look for in a sensory experience.
"The Twelve Barrels Pinot Noir is my pick of the best expression of site and season out of the 234 barrels in our cellar from that year," says winemaker Malcolm Rees-Francis, " ... a single vineyard wine (from Parkburn, of the Pisa area in the Cromwell Basin) based on two clones (777 and 10/5), just enough whole bunches in the ferments to support the fruit intensity, and comprising 50 per cent new oak in the final blend. This wine was returned to neutral barrels after racking in March for a further four months and bottled on the 22nd of September without fining or filtration."
All three wines are available in fine wine stores across New Zealand, but your best bet is to go to www.rockburn.co.nz and click on the 'distributors' tab for a stockist in your area.
Festive wines for under $50
Keep an eye out over the next week or two for my first festive top wines for under $50 list. It's a guide to some of my favourite wines of the year, wines that made a real impression and wines that I have total confidence in and in my opinion represent something really special.
So make sure you grab your Festive Food & Wine publication, which will be in your paper early next month. Tuck it into your handbag or pants pocket when you're next off to the supermarket or wine shop and use it to pick up some superb sips for the summer.