New Zealand Wines

[Degustation]

I just received an invitation to a wine fair sponsored by the New Zealand Consul General and New Zealand Winegrowers. They will have tastings of over eighty wines from at least twenty-five wineries. The notice says that many will be featuring white wines from the 2001 vintage and reds from the 2000 and 2001 vintages.

I'm not that familiar with New Zealand wines and was wondering what more knowledgeable folks have to say about them. What are some of your favorites? How do they compare to Australian wines?

[Beachfan]

I think whites are comparable or better, reds have a ways to go.  This is a somewhat dated opinion, I was there 5 years ago.

There are many good Sauvignon Blancs.  I really like Kumeu River Chardonnay.

[AdamLawrence]

NZ reds - specifically NZ pinot noirs - are pretty hot stuff at the moment. Nice cool climate and some interesting terroirs mean exciting wines. My favourite is Felton Road from Central Otago (www.feltonroad.com) - their base-level pinot is good, but some of their single vineyard wines (I've had the Block 3 and Block 5) are really superb, though in _very_ short supply -but the whole Central Otago region - between Queenstown and Wanaka if you've travelled in NZ - is full of Pinotphiles. Gibbston Valley and Mount Difficulty are another couple of names to watch out for.

Central Otago pinots are typically darker than your average burgundy, but have excellent pinot character, and will only get better - the vines are very young. They are boutique wines though, produced only in small quantities, and they are often relatively expensive. Felton Road makes excellent chardonnay and riesling too.

Marlborough, at the top of the South Island, is classic sauvignon blanc territory, but is also starting to produce good pinot (much of which was originally planted for sparkling wine - I like Pelorus, the Cloudy Bay fizz, a lot). I've had Jackson Estate (who are renowned as among the top SB producers in NZ nowadays) and Forrest Estate, both good if not worldbeating, and sensibly priced for decent pinot, about GBP 10. Isabel Estate is also well-liked by some judges I trust.

In the North Island, Martinborough and Ata Rangi are maybe the two best-known NZ pinot producers. I haven't tried either, but they come highly recommended.

NZ is pinot-mad at the moment, and they are really starting to produce some exciting wines. I think it is probably the most promising New World country for pinot noir - most other places where the grape is grown are too hot to make really elegant, complex wines. Try them.

So far as the comparison to Aussie wines goes, NZ is much cooler than most of Oz, so the wines will tend to be less about power and more about subtlety. You wouldn't find anything like a Barossa shiraz or a Coonawarra cabernet from NZ. If you've ever tried Tasmanian wine, though, there is some comparability there (On Tassie wine, if you ever get chance to try the Pirie sparkling wine from Pipers Brook, do so - it's fab).

cheers

Adam

[tommy]

i would not bother comparing NZ wines to australian wines.  especially the whites.  NZ is steel, australian is still using (too much) oak.  

as suggested, pinots are all the rage out of NZ these days.  however, the pinots i've tried were borderline horrible.  it might be interesting to try a few different producers though, as there has got to be a decent there somewhere!

favorites:

sauv blanc:  brandcott, cloudy bay (the 97 was incredible, and could probably be credited with starting the NZ SB rage, but they have gotten weaker and weaker), allan scott, babich, stoneleigh, villa maria, nautilus, goldwater, giesen.

[AdamLawrence]

Which NZ pinots have you tried, tommy? My experience is quite the reverse, they are consistently good (although, as I mentioned above, not perhaps as complex as they will be in a few years, as the vines get older).

cheers

Adam

[tommy]

Which NZ pinots have you tried, tommy? My experience is quite the reverse, they are consistently good (although, as I mentioned above, not perhaps as complex as they will be in a few years, as the vines get older).

i don't recall the producers.  in all fairness, only 2 or so.  but both weren't good, so even that small sample was an indication.  if you can recommend a producer i'll track it down.    

[AdamLawrence]

Definitely try Felton Road. It ain't cheap, but it's v good stuff.

[Niall]

Sauvignon Blancs from NZ are fantastic; as said before, the Cloudy Bay is great. Another great one is the Vavasour. Rieslings are resaonable; Pinots are generally ok, but Daniel Schuster makes a fantastic one. There are other good pinots,but I have yet to drink them.

[Degustation]

Thanks for all the feedback. Your comments have piqued my curiosity and I will attend the event. I'll post if there's anything interesting.

[Craig Camp]

New Zealand harvest woes

[tommy]

That could result in unripe flavours and high acidity in wines produced this year.

yikes. the perceived acidity of NZ SB is so high, i can't imagine it getting much worse.

["T"]

Sounds like 2002 will be a bad year for many. I read Antinori said no Tignanello 2002 and unsure as far as Solaia. Coupled with the problems in Barolo 2002 will have some slim pickins'.

Perhaps Craig can update a bit also some insight into the Chianti Classico harvest of 2002. CC is my favorite style of wine so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

[Craig Camp]

The brightest spot in Italy was Tuscany, which missed both the bad weather in the north and the cool weather in the south. Stefano Campatelli, director of the Brunello di Montalcino consortium, was optimistic, predicting “optimal quality in the wines,” while Francisco Mazzei at Castello di Fonterutoli in Chianti Classico was “more than satisifed with the quality of the wines in 2002.” Most positive was Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, who was almost lyrical in his comments: “The grapes were perfect,” he said. “It should be a top-vintage year.”

wrote Roger Voss in the Wine Enthusiast.

In Central Italy he cautions the need for a rigorous selection of grapes during harvest, predicting 2002 to be only a two star vintage. Tuscany’s coastal area of Bolgheri echoes the same caution. ’We’ve all been spoilt with a row of good vintages, this year Tuscany is up against a difficult harvest, it’s still early to say,’ says Bolgheri producer Enrico Santini.

from Decanter

It is safe to say this is an uneven vintage that requires caution. Comments and tasting notes are all over the place. Needless to say producer comments are more positive than those of the critics.

That Antinori is giving up 300,000 bottles of easy profit by not making Tignanello should speak for itself.

[Alex F]

That Antinori is giving up 300,000 bottles of easy profit by not making Tignanello should speak for itself.

Craig

No Tignanello - would that be beause of the Sangiovese or the Cab. Sauvignon grapes? And how good do they have to be, to make the cut?

[Craig Camp]

Both - they both like sun and ripen later.

How good is a good question. There have been many so-so vintages of Tignanello. They must really be bad to not make it at all. They have loads of technology to make up for all sorts of problems and if even that can't save them they must not have much to work with.

[Craig Camp]

Kiwi icon

[SBonner]

I recently tried 13 premium New Zealand wines in Vancouver at a tasting hosted by Neil Empson in a new trendy wine/tapas bar called Vintropolis. My favourites by a long short were:

2003 Pegasus Bay Riesling approx. $39.95 Cdn$

Stelvin closure. Straw yellow with intense Rose's lime cordial aroma. Medium-bodied, richly textured, and full of lime and apricot flavours with a long lingering finish of honeycomb. ***(*) 3.5 stars out of 4.

2002 Pegasus Bay Sauvignon/Semillon approx. $39.95 Cdn$

Pale straw with complex aromas of mineral, smoke, and gooseberry leaf. Full-bodied, concentrated, and complexly flavoured with smoke, hints of malo, zesty acidity, and minerally gooseberry fruit. ***(*) 3.5 stars.

Stephen Bonner

Vancouver, Canada

[Craig Camp]

Annual exports from New Zealand need to increase from approximately 1.5 million cases to four million this year.

[Jeffy Boy]

Excellent!

NZ Sauvignon Blancs and Rieslings are among my favs. Bring 'em on.

[KatieLoeb]

I just recently tasted through several of the Villa Maria Wines and was quite favorably impressed. Affordable, great value and high quality. Everything comes with Stelvin closures. I'd be happy to drink my share of these, as well as some of the other delights that NZ has to offer the serious wine enthusiast.

Hopefully it shouldn't be too difficult for the NZ winemakers to increase their exports. Seems that their products are gaining in notariety as well as becoming more mainstream for the general wine drinking public. Between restaurants and the wine media, it should be a relatively simple task to increase demand to meet the tidal wave of incoming wine at the shore.

[wattacetti]

Greetings,

My indirect shopping continues as (non-drinking) friends will be off to New Zealand next month for holidays. So, I have an opportunity to take advantage of their goodwill, 1.5 L per person exemption, and long ropy arms to acquire a few bottles of New Zealand's up-and-coming Pinot Noirs.

Apart from a recent WS article saying "Central Otago", information and Canadian supply are both somewhat slim . I currently have or have access to the following Pinot production:

Ata Rangi

Felton Road

Highfield

Isabelle Estate

Kim Crawford

Koura Bay

Pegasus Bay

Peregrine

So, I invite your suggestions on other interesting Pinot Noir producers that I should ask them to watch out for. Thank you in advance.

[Bill Miller]

Brancott (Marlborough region) produces a really good inexpensive Pinot. You might get your friends to see if they have a reserve available down there.

[wattacetti]

Brancott I have very access to, but thank you for the suggestion.

I'm really hoping to find something from the more obscure New Zealand producers that may have little to no exposure outside of the immediate region.

[helenjp]

I haven't lived in NZ permanently for 15 years, so I only know a fraction of the wineries which have been established or come into production over that period...

A lot of good pinot noir comes from Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa, and Central Otago wineries, bad news for the budget-conscious, as areas such as Martinborough in the Wairarapa already command high prices for almost all their wines. Marlborough (and to a lesser extent neighboring Nelson) also produces good pinot noirs, and more sporadically, individual wineries in other areas.

Because NZ is a beer-drinking country which started making wines, small wineries with limited production are more likely to be selling to people on their customer list rather than selling to the local market at the cellar doors. Some sell exclusively to export markets.

some reviews to look at...and a few names to add to your list, though I couldn't comment on availability or value for money.

Wairarapa

Fairmont Estate

Loopline Vineyard

Matua Valley Wairarapa

Martinborough

Alana Estate

Coney Wines (v. new, haven't heard anything of them)

Dry River

Margrain

Martinborough Vineyard

Murdoch James

Nga Waka

Palliser Estate

Te Kairanga Martinborough Reserve

Walnut Ridge Martinborough

Voss Estate

Central Otago

The Big Picture in Cromwell, Otago, specializes in tastings and sales of Central Otago wines.

Akarua (in Bannockburn)

Black Ridge (in Alexandra)

Carrick (in Bannockburn)

Chard Farm (in Gibbston Vly)

Dry Gully (only makes pinot noir) (in Alexandra)

Felton Rd. Block 5, if you can find it...but also Felton Road pinot noir

Gibbston Valley Reserve

(another Gibbston Valley winery is Amisfield Lake Hayes, very new winery, and I haven't heard anything about their wines)

Hay's Lake

Kawarau Estate Reserve

Mount Edward Central Otago (in Gibbston Vly)

Mt Difficulty

Olssen's of Bannockburn

Packspur (in Cromwell)

Peregrine Central Otago (in Gibbston Vly)

Quartz Reef

Rippon

Valli PN Colleen's Vineyard

Waitiri Creek (in Gibbston Vly)

...and having done all that typing and totally run out of steam, I now discover somebody better qualified has done a better job of it...so check out Central Otago and also Marlborough (click "NZ Wineries" on the bar at left) at Cuisine magazine's site!

[carswell]

After PMing wattacetti with the details, I realized this was something that might also interest others.

You might find it worthwhile to check out Thor Iverson's travelog cum tasting notes covering a trip he and his wife took in early 2003. (I've linked to the final installment because it's the only one with a complete index.) He's a fine writer (used to do the wine column for the Boston Phoenix) and a reliable taster and they visited any number of wineries, some obscure, some well known, including a few that produce what sound to be exquisite pinot noirs. The only problem is you'll want to hop on a plane and see for yourself.

The couple returned to NZ earlier this year and he's currently in the process of posting installments from that trip. Here's the most recent. Don't recall him raving about any pinots yet (most of the visit so far has been to warm-climate regions).

edit: Coming installments will be posted on the Wine Lovers' Discussion Group.

Edited August 27, 2005 by carswell (log)