WTN - Kim Crawford

[Marco_Polo]

Wine tasting organised by Andy Tarry of execellars in conjunction with Liberty Wines with winemaker Kim Crawford of New Zealand presenting his wines at The Turf Hotel, Exminster.

Turf is a unique venue, an old inn situated at the mouth of the Exeter ship canal (England's first canal) on the Exe river and inaccessible by car - we all piled into boats from Topsham for the short passage across the river.

We began with a first tasting of Kim’s Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2004, bottled only last week Thursday, said Kim. Pale in colour, intensely aromatic with a pungent, herbaceous character that was by no means over-powering, and a zesty, citrus finish that was razor sharp. This is a beautifully expressive example of Kiwi Sauvignon.

The Marlborough Dry Riesling 2003 has an impressively exotic and ripe nose, with hints of ginger and honey. In the mouth, it’s a big, powerful wine, the acidity softened and tempered by a year’s ageing; though there is a touch of residual sugar to round it off, the dry finish makes this a wine equally good as an aperitif as with food.

Pinot Gris is not a grape usually associated with New Zealand, but Kim Crawford’s Marlborough Boyszone Vineyard Pinot Gris 2003 is an intriguing example. Part of the wine was fermented in used American oak and there is a proportion of Chardonnay added to the final blend. The result is a full and powerful wine that combines the intense aromatic character of apricots and lychees in a richly deep and full palate with just a touch of residual sweetness that comes through at the finish.

The whimsically named Pansy Rosé 2003 is a deliciously appealing wine, made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes, the colour bled from a portion of the grapes left on the skin after just a day’s crushing. Rather full in colour for a rosé, with berry fruit aromas, this is a gorgeously glugable wine, full juicy fruit and with enough body to stand up to a range of foods.

Finally we tasted two Pinot Noirs. The first was Kim’s ‘straight’ Marlborough Pinot Noir 2003, medium weight in body with an attractive Pinot nose of wild berries and cherries; juicy and soft on the palate, with clean and moderately persistent finish. The Anderson Vineyard Pinot Noir 2002 is in another class. Aged in both new and old French oak, it has a deeper colour and an intense nose that combines primary fruity aromas, notably raspberries, with soft new oak and the deeper, vegetal Pinot tones that come with bottle age. On the palate, the wine displays a rich and almost voluptuously silky character with a fine balance of fruit, oak and grippy tannins. A truly wonderful wine!

All Kim Crawford wines, including the reds, incidentally, are now sealed with screw-top Stelvin closure. According to Kim, this ensures that cork taint is eliminated, oxidation is minimised and he can be sure that the wines will reach the consumer in the way that he himself intends them to be. Personally I don't have a problem with this at all. In fact, I've come to really enjoy reaching into the fridge (or the 'cellar') for a bottle of something I know is good and just twisting off the cap to open it. I'm sure more and more wines will be closed in this fashion in coming years, and I welcome it (a far preferable alternative to the dreaded plastic cork).

(There's a fuller report of the evening here.)

Cheers,

Marc