Mumm Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021: review

Mumm has released a Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021.

The Champagne house Mumm – operating here under the name Mumm Central Otago – has released an AU $80 pinot noir from New Zealand’s most famous pinot noir region. It’s 14.5% alcohol, was matured in 50% new French oak, and comes in a hefty/heavy bottle. It’s a complex wine, well-framed by tannin, with undergrowth and cherry-berry flavours sitting pretty on the palate. Cedarwood oak is a bit too heavy-handed for my liking and the finish isn’t overly persistent, but it’s a decent representation of what Central Otago does with pinot noir. It’s a good drink. That said, roughly half the asking price is, arguably, a case of ‘paying for the name’. If you wanted me to put a score on this I’d be in the vicinity of 91-92/100.

Campbell Mattinson

This post was written by Campbell Mattinson. Mattinson is a former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion book, former editor of Halliday magazine, former editor of Australian Sommelier Magazine and founder of The Winefront business. He is the author of five books on wine – four of which were bestsellers (The Wine Hunter, the Big Red Wine Book 2008, the Big Red Wine Book 2009, and the Big Red Wine Book 2010).

Mattinson is also the founder of the Mattinson Photography business.

Campbell Mattinson has been an independent journalist, wine critic and photographer for forty years. He’s the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He’s a past winner of a Louis Roederer International Wine Media Award; is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter; and is the author of the best-selling novel We Were Not Men. He’s also a winner of a St Kilda Film Festival Award (as writer-director) and is a former winner of the national Best Australian Sports Writing Award. In 2026 three of his photographs were short-listed for the World Food Photography Awards.

Campbell Mattinson, who is 100% independent, has tasted between 5000 and 10,000 wines each and every year for the past 25 years. He tastes blind, in comparative brackets, as often as is practicable.

Campbell Mattinson is a journalist, a photographer, a filmmaker and a wine critic. In all of these mediums his prime motive is to tell people's stories.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
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