A gorgeously designed bottle, this, giving a sense of the refined subtlety within. This must be the lightest Pinot Noir I’ve had from the Marlborough region of New Zealand, and yet it’s anything but light on character.

This 12.5% Pinot must be from a cooler climate than most of the others I’ve tried from the region. They tend to be on the weightier side of medium bodied, full of spice and with as many dark fruit flavours and aromas as there are red notes. But Ara’s “Pathway” Pinot is one of the reddest red wines I’ve seen; as red as redcurrants and almost as translucent as a rosé.

The body really is much lighter than that of any New Zealand Pinot I’ve previously tried; but it’s not in a watery way. There’s enough strawberry and cranberry fruit, soft oak influence with a really subtle and welcome touch of savory, subtle spice in the mix to make this a very different affair from the two-bit Gamays of the world.

I’m guessing this wine still goes down as “medium-bodied”, but I’d really encourage anyone who thinks they prefer heavier reds, or indeed those who stick to Fleuries and Beaujolais Nouveaux, to give this a try.

This is being sold for £9 at Morrissons right now, finally disproving my long-held theory (well, untested hypothesis would be a better term) that you couldn’t get a good NZ Pinot Noir from a supermarket.

“Better than Burgundy?” posits Morrissons’ consumer reviewer.

Better than Burgundy?

Hahahhahahahhahahahahahahahhahahahahhahahahahahaha.

No contest. You won’t get anything this good from France for the same price. Not last time I checked, anyway.

So, yeah; better than Burgundy.