Waitaki awakening
Sunday 3 January
On my tour of New Zealand’s wine regions, there have been a few wineries pulling out a surprise wine or two from Waitaki. Where the hell is that? Until I landed here a month ago, I’d never even heard of this region but from what I’ve since tasted, it is worth getting excited about. I’m planning on heading down there in the next few weeks to see what’s going on but here’s the latest.
Waitaki is in north Otago and is really pushing it in terms of viticultural possibility. A handful of growers have been attracted here in search of the next central Otago – a cool climate and the holy grail of soils: limestone. However, this region showed how susceptible it is to the elements in 2007 with a virtually non-existent crop. Cool weather and winds can ruin flowering and towards harvest, grapes can struggle to ripen.
The region’s pioneer, Howard Paterson, planted his first vines at the start of this century with John Forrest of Marlborough-based Forrest Wines making the first wine from the grapes - the 2003 Doctors Creek Pinot Noir. It’s still showing well six years later with a nose of peppery spice, Worcestershire sauce, smoked sausage and tarragon. For a first crop, it had real depth and lovely texture. Paterson sadly passed away before he could taste the fruits of his labour but he has left a legacy with around eight wineries now producing Waitaki wines and producer Pasquale opening the region’s first winery and cellar door at Kurow in November.
You’ll find surprisingly taut yet textured Pinot Gris; intense and bony Riesling; peppery and damson-ey Pinot Noir with a minerally almost chalky quality, plus Gewurz and Chardonnay.
Rod Easthope, winemaker at Craggy Range, which makes a few Waitaki stunners under the Otago Station label, says, “It’s ridiculously on the edge because in some years, we are not going to make any wine there.”
“They could be another Riesling/ Pinot Gris/Sauvignon Blanc region competing with the rest so I’ve suggested that each producer does an aromatic white blend not a varietal as the region’s USP.”
That’s a snapshot of Waitaki for you. More soon…
The whiter side of Hawkes Bay
Monday 28 December
White varieties in New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay cover more than half of the region’s vineyard land despite being better known for its reds internationally. This statistic was a bit of a shock to me, coming from the UK. Isn’t Hawkes Bay dominated by Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah? Clearly not.
In fact, Chardonnay is the most planted variety with Sauvignon Blanc only beaten into third spot by Merlot.
I tried some really classy Chardonnays from here as well as some decent Viognier. But Sauvignon and Riesling? I understand that the world wants to drink New Zealand Sauvignon and there are distributors looking for anything but Marlborough SB but with prices falling faster than the Titanic, Hawkes Bay should focus on what it’s good at. The days are gone when Hawkes Bay could produce Sauvignon at an attractive price compared to Marlborough. In my opinion, this is the time to focus on its warmer climate whites and reds.
With the heat degree day summation in the Gimblett Gravels area exceeding that of Valence in the Rhone valley, Tony Bish, winemaker at Sacred Hill said: “We have to break the paradigm that all of New Zealand is cool climate.”
“Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc is not as varietally intense because we don’t have the cool nights that Marlborough does, so we get riper wines with lower acids.” If the region is going to have a go at Sauvignon, why not throw in a bit of Semillon, a little bit of French oak and make a Graves/Pessac Leognan style? It would fit with the region’s Bordeaux blend reds.
The Chardonnays from producers including Clearview Estate, Sacred Hill’s Rifleman’s Chardonnay and Mission Estate’s Reserve all impressed. They’ve all got white stone fruit and citrus with some nicely balanced new french oak but the warmer climate in Hawkes Bay is definitely reflected by the 14% alcohol levels.
As well as doing a pretty good northern Rhone-style red, Gimblett producers are also doing some promising Rhone-style whites, including Craggy Range. Many other producers showed some lovely peach and apricotty character with decent concentration and typical Viognier structure but there was often too much oak covering that lovely Viognier fragrance.
There are some interesting spots in Hawkes Bay on the coast for whites - take German-owned Elephant Hill. It’s a newcomer to the region but already its whites are showing a delicacy and nimbleness that is surely a reflection of the cooler site - and perhaps its Germanic ownership. Clearview Estate, also situated on the coast, also shows a freshness that those further inland could not emulate. As always, it’s always about location, location, location.
Highs and lows in Nelson
Monday 21 December
Nelson has had plenty praise from the wine literati. The region’s press pack proudly contained quotes like:
“Nelson is home to New Zealand’s finest aromatics”
-Steven Spurrier, Decanter UK
“Nelson produces outstanding Pinot Noir which can equal the best from anywhere”
-Nick Bulleid MW, Australian Gourmet Wine Traveller
As you’d expect from such comments, I went there with high expectations. Apart from a few shining stars, I came away slightly disappointed by the general standard. Perhaps I was having an off day or it was the 2008 that let the region down…
What did excite me was Neudorf’s Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – but then that’s nothing unexpected. It has had write up after write up for its Puligny-like Chardonnay. I’ve turned up late to join the party of admirers. The 2008 (18.5-19/20) has a beautiful streak of acidity coupled with elegant nectarine fruit, minerality and well integrated hazelnutty new French oak (£14.50, Richards Walford). I also started waxing lyrical on my tasting notes for its ’08 Tom’s Block Pinot Noir and ’07 Moutere Pinot. In brief, both were tight and focused with good mid-palate weight with fresh acid and firm chalky notes and savoury complexity. I won’t bore you with the other tasty adjectives.
Another shining light is Richmond Plains/Te Mania. Same winemaker, two labels. Richmond is biodynamic; Te Mania isn’t but sticks to organic principles. There’s clearly been a lot of work put in here since converting to Rudolf Steiner’s tenets from making compost tea to regular oil sprays against powdery mildew. I’ve seen many vineyards recently and even if they grow cover crops down the middle of the rows, under the row you’ll still see a strip of bare earth where weeds have been hoed or killed with herbicides. Not here. The vineyard is almost meadow-like. The vines look incredibly balanced here with shoot growth appearing to be much less vigorous than in other vineyards I’ve visited.
Balance in the vineyard is reflected in the wines. The majority of my notes included the phrase ‘great balance’, which many wines fail to achieve. Alcohol levels are in check - as low as 12% in the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc – with structure and some old world-esque restraint.
Neudorf, Richmond Plains plus Seifried’s Decanter trophy-winning ’08 Sweet Agnes Riesling showed what Nelson can do when it’s on form but many lacked the wow-factor that I had come searching for.
Across the board the Rieslings and Sauvignon Blancs didn’t do it for me when compared to Central Otago, Waipara and Marlborough. The Sauvignons were certainly more food friendly than those of Marlborough, which tend to jump out of the glass and bop you on the nose. But from the cross section I tasted in the region, many wineries need to up their game to warrant the praise Nelson has received, rather than basing their reputation on a small clutch of award-winning wines.
Harsh? Maybe, and I’d like to be proven wrong.
Don’t forget Otago’s whites
Monday 14 December
It’s well known that Central Otago does bloody good Pinot Noir so I’m not going to bore you with telling you about its lovely black cherry hue, dark fruits, herbal and savoury notes, and impressive backbone of acidity….Instead, I’m going to talk about its whites.
Sparklers, dry and off-dry Rieslings, and Pinot Gris give this region more strings to its bow. It does some decent Gewurz and a bit of Chardonnay but the Pinots and Rieslings stand out. Inevitably the whites are overshadowed by the Pinot Noirs, which dominate planting and give the region its prestige. But, as more markets and consumers get to know the Pinots of Central, they’ll start to ask ‘What else do you do?’ And the good news is, it ain’t Sauvignon Blanc.
Duncan Forsyth, winemaker at Mount Edward who has a disco ball in his barrel cellar and is making his own chorizo-type sausage, said “We have a name that can carry our region with our reds. Sauvignon Blanc is the leader for New Zealand. We will always be Sauvignon-centric simply because of the volumes of wine but for me the future is all about Riesling.”
David Hogg, director of Amisfield added, “If we just have Pinot Noir at our table that would be too straight. I think we have pretty special Pinot Gris and Riesling.”
Wines that stood out for me (although I can’t mention them all here or I’ll put you to sleep).
Sparkling:
Amisfield Arcadia Brut NV
50/50 Pinot Noir/Chardonnay. A great palate cleanser after a long day’s tasting. Apple skin, savoury note, lean and crisp with elegant mousse and fresh acidity. 17.5/20
2007 Mount Edward Riesling, (£12, Laytons)
A crisp little number. Zesty on entry with green apple, citrus, white flowers and minerally . Lovely texture and concentration. Tight finish thanks to a very low pH of 2.95. Alcohol at 12.5 makes for a wine you can drink plenty of… 18/20
2008 Quartz Reef Pinot Gris
The biodynamic Austrian winemaker makes this in a tight Germanic style with no malo and no oak. It sits somewhere between a Gris and a Grigio style. Full of citrus, apple and pear with a little creaminess. Medium-full body with an alcohol of 14.5% but it’s well balanced so you don’t end up breathing fire after drinking. 17.5/20
Ok so I said I wouldn’t talk about reds but I can’t help but mention Felton Road because all of its Pinots would get you excited (its whites are great too)
2008 Calvert Pinot Noir, Felton Road
Ok, so the jury’s still out on whether I preferred the more expensive Block 3 Pinot or this but, as I’m a tight northerner, I’ve gone for the Calvert. Lovely bright colour. It’s minerally, almost chalky, with sweet fruit on entry with a generous and supple mid-palate. It ends with a lean and smoky, French-oak finish. 18/20