New Zealand wine of the week - www.wineoftheweek.com
edited by Sue Courtney

Wine of the Week newsletter No. 41 - May 2006
Independent news and reviews from New Zealand
17th May 2006

Dear Friends of www.wineoftheweek.com,

New Zealand has just had one of the shortest autumns ever. Summer seemed to extend into the third week of April although there was a cold snap in the first week of that month. Now it is only the middle of May and with snow closing roads in both the North and South Islands, it seems that winter has already arrived. Like the winegrowers, I was pleased that the good weather continued for so long. While they were able to extend the hang time of their red grapes, I was able to make the most of topless driving around the South Island when I travelled with fellow members of the Auckland Centre of the MG Car Club to the club's National Rally in Wanaka. I was responsible for planning the itinerary so I made sure I was able to visit some vineyards off the regular beaten track. Thus a 2-night stay in Nelson allowed for a day trip over the Takaka Hill to beautiful Golden Bay and the Waiwera Estate vineyard, which is surrounded by amazingly shaped limestone outcrops. Limestone also featured in visits to the Ostler Vineyard in the Waitaki Valley near the Canterbury / Otago border, and to the Sawcut Vineyard in the Waima Valley, 55 kilometres south of Blenheim in southern Marlborough.

Waiwera Estate in Golden Bay focuses on Pinot Noir and the stunning 2004 vintage wine, which will be their best yet, will be released in November.
Ostler Vineyard grows Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris and while this year's grapes were still on the vine in mid-April, the 2004 that I tasted from the bottle was an exciting experience. More on this below.
Sawcut Vineyard, named after the amazing Sawcut Gorge (click here for photos), grows grapes for Saint Clair. Saint Clair are so excited about the quality of the Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc that they have made single vineyard wines from this vineyard, the Sawcut Sauvignon Blanc even making it into the top tier Pioneer Block range. The grapes had been already been picked but later, at the Saint Clair winery I tasted the 2006 Sawcut Sauvignon Blanc from tank and what an exciting wine this is going to be.

VINTAGE REPORTS
Vintage is just about over except for Riesling and Semillon grapes hanging out to make the best of the cold as the grapes turn into raisins that will eventually make deliciously sweet botrytised wines.

Way down south in Central Otago it was an interesting season with grapes in some parts of the region being picked earlier than ever - as early as February for the Quartz Reef sparkling wine, Chauvet - and from about the 23rd March for some of the vineyards in the Cromwell Basin. It was a hot season and while one producer in the eastern part of the region mentioned 'sunburn', it will possibly be the best season ever for the far more westerly Gibbston Valley sub-region. This cool valley between Queenstown and Cromwell can ripen up to a month later. When I drove through there on Easter Sunday (April 16th), it was interesting seeing the autumn colours of the leaves of the pinot noir vines while the grapes were still hanging to soak up the late season sun.

In the Waipara area in the South Island, winemaker Kim Rayner says, "I have been making wine in Waipara since 1991 and I am prepared to say that this 2006 vintage has produced the best cross section of grape quality that I have seen."

James Healy of Dog Point Vineyard in Marlborough said it had been a dream vintage. He and partner in wine, Ivan Sutherland, went fishing just after Easter as they had finished their earliest vintage ever.

Meanwhile in Martinborough, at the bottom of the North Island, everyone is really excited about the wines they are going to produce. "Fruit flavour and sugar ripeness levels are better than vintages of the last 21 years," says 'Wines From Martinborough' Chairman, John Porter.

Hawkes Bay winemakers are pretty jubilant about their final results too. Although there was a prolonged rain event in late March, as mentioned in the last newsletter, the winemakers did not seem too worried. "If you were patient and let the water get out of the system, everything was as good as before, if not better," John Hancock of Trinity Hill explained.
Warren Gibson of Trinity Hill and Bilancia Wines said that the worst of their Syrah from 2006 was better than the best of their Syrah from the previous three years.
Rod McDonald of Vidal Wines and Chairman of Hawkes Bay Winemakers said, "Syrah was the star of the red wine vintage while in the whites Viognier and Chardonnay were exceptional." He added that Sauvignon Blanc was the most rain affected grape and overall volumes from Hawkes Bay were less than expected, particularly with the reds.

CHARITY AUCTION
Talking about Hawkes Bay, the big event that is coming up on their events calendar is the Midlands Hawkes Bay Charity Wine Auction during Queens Birthday Weekend on 4th June. I went to a sneak preview tasting in Auckland on Monday night and can now tip the best buys.
It would be hard to go past a quarter barrique of Vidal Syrah 2005, a beautifully fragrant, sweet-fruited, succulent wine with an interesting combo of oak and spices. But expect to pay big dollars. A quiet achiever that will possibly be bought for a better price is the Wishart Estate Winery's quarter barrique of a barrel selected wine made from 40% Syrah, 30% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot. This is beautifully structured and fragrant with the spiciness and elegance of the Syrah adding lift while the Malbec adds to the depth and length.
There are more sweet wines than ever before and I love the Alpha Domus Noble Selection 2005. Its honeyed, ethereal, lowish alcohol flavours are pure and intense. Twelve 375ml bottles are up for auction. They will be a good cellaring proposition. Also lookout for the Trinity Hill Noble Viognier 2006, a very rare and different style of sweet wine. The auction parcel is 28 litres.

Wines that are bought as barrel or part barrel lots will generally be bottled to the successful bidder's requirements. There are also lots in rare bottle sizes, including Jeroboams and Salamanzars. Go to the Midlands Charity Auction website for tickets details, auction catalogue, absentee bidding details and pre-auction tasting on 3rd June. As usual, proceeds go to the Cranford Hospice.

RECENT WINES OF THE WEEK
Lincoln Reserve Barrique Fermented Chardonnay 2004 from Hawkes Bay proves the point that blind wine tastings are necessary, so wines can be assessed without prejudice for or against a wine based on the producer's name on the label.

Margrain River's Edge Pinot Noir 2004 from Martinborough is a new 'second-label' wine where the quality far exceeds the price. If you are a fan of Pukekos, it will be hard to resist this wine, just for the label alone.

Fromm La Strada Reserve Syrah from Marlborough is an enigma - yes Syrah from Marlborough where Sauvignon Blanc is king and queen. This vertical tasting revealed some of the deepest, darkest reds from the district.

Ostler Caroline's Pinot Noir 2004 is the jewel in the crown from the new Waitaki Valley wine growing region. But it's hiding behind a screen of hype from other producers.

Rippon Riesling 2004 from Central Otago's most photographed vineyard at Lake Wanaka expresses the purity achieved from this cool climate wine growing region. Snow fell to set off my photo when I visited the vineyard in April to meet the change of guard as the next generation takes over from Otago vineyard pioneers, Lois and the late Rolfe Mills.

Highfield Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005. When you're on the road, what better than this vivacious Marlborough savvie to wake up the mouth once the car is parked and the bags unpacked, to sip on while checking the email and deleting hundreds of messages of spam.

Kathy Lynskey 15 Rows Merlot 2003 from Marlborough, like the Fromm wines, an another enigma. Nobody would ever guess that this voluptuous, chocolatey, velvet-cloaked Merlot came from the Sauvignon Blanc capital.

The index to these and older dated Wines of the Week can be found on the Archives page.

While I was away wine tastings took a back seat and of course I couldn’t make it to the First Glass Fine Wine Wednesday, but on return my palate was appeased with a tasting of 12 wines from Europe and the week later, 12 wines from New Zealand. Click here to check out the notes.

CONGRATULATIONS
Possibly the first winemaker to make it to the top of the world and definitely the first double amputee, winemaker Mark Inglis has achieved his dream of climbing Mt Everest. Mark turned to winemaking after losing both his legs in a climbing accident on Mt Cook in 1982. A change of career was necessary and in 1989 Mark graduated from Lincoln University with a degree in biochemistry. He joined Montana in 1992 and eventually became Senior Winemaker with responsibility for the Methode Traditionelle wines, including Deutz Marlborough Cuvée. He left Montana in 2002 and in 2004 joined sparkling wine specialist Cellier Le Brun, as consultant. For pics of Mark's Everest achievements, check out his website Legs on Everest.

SCREWCAP RESEARCH
Aucklander Paul Tudor has passed both his tasting and theoretical examinations for the prestigious Master of Wine and is now working on his dissertation to complete the qualification. Not surprisingly for a candidate from Down Under, his research topic is acceptance levels of screwcaps on wine. Independently of any screwcap manufacturer, he is surveying four key markets, Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and the United States. The survey is primarily aimed at wine professionals and anyone who draws some income from wine but responses will also be accepted from interested enthusiasts. If you want to take Paul's survey, please click on this link www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=262752102772 or contact Paul directly by email. All respondents will be eligible to win a pack of three wine books, valued at over 60 pounds/$90 USD, including one each of the following:

Understanding Wine Technology (2nd ed) by David Bird MW
Wine Science: the application of science in winemaking by Jamie Goode
Wine Label Language by Peter Saunders

Four prize draws will be made, one each for Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and the rest of the world (including the United States.)

NEWS HEADLINES
5 May 2006: New vintage Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
1 May 2006: Waipara Hills buys Canterbury House.
24 Apr 2006: Two more wineries planned for Central Otago.

That's all for now.

Cheers!

Sue Courtney
Editor, wineoftheweek.com
mailto:wineoftheweek@clear.net.nz
www.wineoftheweek.com

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