The name says it all — and then the wine delivers on every word of it. Cherry Block is a Central Otago Pinot Noir of real charm and character, named for the fruit that defines it and made in one of the world’s most dramatic and celebrated Pinot Noir regions. Central Otago is New Zealand’s most southerly wine region — a landscape of ancient schist, gold-rush history, and breathtaking Alpine scenery in the heart of the South Island, where the combination of intense summer sunshine, cool nights, and the mineral-rich soils of the world’s southernmost wine region produces Pinot Noir of a character, freshness, and complexity that has astonished wine lovers since the region first came to international attention. The altitude and the continental climate give the wines a precision and vibrancy that is entirely their own — and nowhere is that more evident than in the vivid, fruit-forward style of Cherry Block, a wine that captures the pure, joyful essence of Central Otago Pinot Noir with a directness and charm that is completely and utterly beguiling. The 2022 is a delight: classic Central Otago Pinot Noir aromas of red cherries, raspberries, and cranberries on the nose, with lovely hints of spice that add a warmth and complexity that carries through to a fresh, elegant finish. At £22.49, it is Central Otago Pinot Noir at its most approachable, most characterful, and most completely itself — the wine that makes you understand, in a single glass, why this remote corner of New Zealand has taken the wine world by storm.