Burn Cottage was founded in 2002 by Marquis Sauvage and Ted Lemon of Sonoma Coast’s famous Littorai estate. What was once a sheep paddock was transformed into one of Central Otago’s finest Pinot Noir sites, earning Burn Cottage its reputation as one of the top producers in the region. Today, Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate) describes them as “a superstar producer—an asset for the region and indeed the country (and the New World in general).”
In 2018, Burn Cottage purchased the ‘Sauvage Vineyard’, which comprises 5.8 hectares of Pinot Noir located in Bannockburn on the northeast side of Felton Road. The soils at the Sauvage site are Bannockburn series, classified as “deep silt loams” containing quartz, quartz sands and schist gravels.
On the nose, this wine is precise and perfumed with lovely aromatics of cherry, violets, and spices layered with hints of bramble and wet stones. The palate has wonderful finesse and fine tannins which extend through the long finish.
"The 2021 Sauvage Vineyard Pinot Noir is supremely pretty. It's elegant and fine and still powerful, thanks to the Bannockburn area; however, the wine itself shows rose petals and spring flowers, graphite and pencil lead, white pepper and tapenade. Svelte and sleek, this is composed and detailed and so, so good. I am (mostly) resisting hyperbole and adverbs here. This is a standout wine from a superstar producer—an asset for the region and indeed the country (and the New World in general). 13.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork." 97pts Erin Larkin The Wine Advocate