Rebecca Gibb

Unfiltered Pinot Noir with Matt Thomson

Sunday 6 March

Matt Thomson, globe trotting winemaker, joins me to discuss New Zealand wine, his love of kayaking and who he would go gay for. Plus a funny out-take at the end…

I heard the name Matt Thomson everywhere but he’s a difficult man to pin down, taking 170 flights a year.

Being a consultant winemaker in Marlborough, I was keen to pick his brain on its Pinot Noir, as I’ve been largely unimpressed with the region’s offerings thus far.

He is quick to defend Pinot Noir in Marlborough. “I find it really frustrating. If you look historically at what the region has won in terms of trophies for our Pinot Noirs, we have done better than other regions.”

But what about structure? Isn’t the region lacking a bit in its Pinots? “I think New Zealand Pinot Noir lacks structure,” he admits.

Perhaps it’s a soil thing, or maybe it’s vine age or climate…

Stem trials
Here’s where I get technical…Some winemakers are getting more structure by adding stems to the ferment. I like this. It adds a bit of chew and a linear finish, plus gives the wine more longevity. “As a component, get the level right and the wine sings,” says Thomson.

Not that everyone can do this successfully, however. Add too many stems, or if they aren’t ripe, you’ll get a green, sappy character in the wine. If you’ve ever chewed on a grape stem, you’ll know what I mean. It’s pretty unpleasant.

The problem is stems in Pinot Noir struggle to get ripe – what’s called lignification. By the time your stems lignify in Pinot, your fruit is overripe and knackered. Throughout New Zealand, there appears to be a struggle to get stems ripe. Some say it is a climate thing, others think it is clonal thing, while there’s the argument it could be a vine age thing. Which, leaves me very confused. But then again, there’s very rarely a definitive answer in the wine industry.

If anyone would like to offer their views, I’d be interested…

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