Chenin Blanc is not a variety usually associated with New Zealand and initial lack of consumer interest almost caused Margrain to pull up their Chenin Blanc vineyards. Happily they didn’t. In Episode 11 I praised their flavoursome dry 2001 Chenin but I didn’t know they made a sweetie. So I was intrigued to spy an unlisted half bottle at Brett Morris’s recent Boutique Wines of New Zealand Ltd tasting.

2002 was a successful year for their Chenin. Sugar levels reached 25.8% Brix, picking continued into May and many bunches were affected with Botrytis. Margrain’s Botrytised Chenin Blanc 2002 is a pale yellow colour with condensed intensity of flavours reminiscent of ripe peaches and apricots, not overly sweet and with good balancing acidity. And only 10% alcohol. An ideal after dinner drink. Because of European Union madness this wine can’t be sold here, hence it wasn’t listed; neither was Margrain Botrytised Riesling 2002 with its dark gold colour and honeyed sweetness. Brett was getting several requests for ‘under the counter’ supplies of these cracking stickies which he good naturedly refused. If you’re lucky enough to be in New Zealand do try them.

Other wines that particularly impressed were
Margrain Chenin Blanc 2002 – this late harvest wine was made from the grapes that hadn’t botrytised. There’s an intriguing rich nose; its fuller and fatter than the 2001, and giving the impression of sweetness while dry with a delicious quince marmalade flavours.

Johanneshof Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. The 2001 was my favourite with its classic nose followed by a steely nettle taste and crisp refreshingly acidic finish, my kind of Sauvignon Blanc. The 2002 was a bit softer in the mid-palate, but had all the crispness of a market barrow of green Granny Smith apples. The 2003 was softer and fuller, and dare I say, blander than the previous vintages but it had a flinty dryness and good acid finish.

Bilancia Kawkes Bay Pinot Gris 2003 was clean and fresh with tangy sharp lime fruit flavours.

Margrain’s Merlot 2001 had a delicious spicy tang overlaying tannins and blackcurrant leaves.

Bilancia Syrah 2002 was a beautiful black purple colour with sweet oak on the front palate, light bodied with a moreish spicy finish, one for putting aside for a year to let the flavours fully integrate.

Boutique Wines of New Zealand Ltd can be reached in the UK on 01452 863708

Finger Lakeing Good
Travel is fun, even when it’s for work. Last episode I reported from Austin, Texas. Since then I’ve been in Saudi Arabia, Minnesota and New York State.

Fall colours at Seneca Lake

From September to November I visited more than forty wineries in New York’s Finger Lakes wine region, which takes its name from a series of long narrow lakes running north to south that look like someone has left wet hand marks on the map. There are reckoned to be six Finger Lakes but nearly all wineries are found along the shores of the three largest, Keuka, Seneca and Cayuga. The region is some 350 miles north- west of New York City and 200 miles south-east of Niagara Falls.

What I found astonishing is the sheer number of grape varieties used in this small region. I counted 46 different varieties and tasted nearly all of them. The most popular are Chardonnay, Riesling and Gewürztraminer for whites; Pinot Noir, the Cabernets and Merlot for red. Surprisingly no one makes Sauvignon Blanc.

New York’s Cornell University has an Experimental Station in Geneva at the northern end of the largest lake, Seneca, where it trials varieties for suitability for the region and releases new hybrid varieties. Many of these, such as Cayuga White, Melody and Traminette can be tasted in nearby wineries. There are also some interesting vitis vinifera varieties such as Rkatsitelli and Lemberger. Rkatsitelli is one of the worlds most planted varieties but is rarely seen outside Eastern Europe. Here it makes a crisp dry white, the closest substitute I found for Sauvignon Blanc. Germany’s Lemberger (also known as Blaufrankisch) makes the best reds, with deep red colours, lovely soft fruity flavours, lively & fresh with complexity and balanced acids. Few wineries currently produce it although plantings are increasing. Pinot Noir and the Bordeaux reds dominate although I didn’t find them very successful and Merlot in particular suffers an unpleasant metallic edge.

For my list of Finger Lakes varieties with tasting notes see Aurora to Zweigelt at www.winelabels.org/arta2z.htm.

In the Press
As the build up the Christmas gathers pace, Britain’s Telegraph newspaper has selected 25 whites as the best for Christmas, including three from New Zealand. Andrew Catchpole recommends Pelorus NV (elegant, smooth, yeasty depths & half the price of similar quality Champagne), Hawkesbridge Willowbank Sauvignon Blanc 2002 (outstanding, herbaceous exuberance), Montana Lindauer Brut (excellent value fizz, fresh citrus character.

Britain Not Ready for Screwcaps
Cork remains the preferred wine closure for Britons. Some 99% of a national sample of wine drinkers said they were positive or neutral about cork while nearly 6 in 10 respondents said they did not like buying wine with screw-caps.

This is despite a campaign by Britain’s leading supermarket chain and major wine retailer, Tesco’s to promote alternative closures, especially screw-caps under its ‘Unwind’ logo. Opinions may be changing though, as just under one in three respondents reported that their view of screw-caps had improved recently.

It also depends on what type of wine is usually consumed. Just over half of New Zealand wine drinkers thought that a screw-cap on a bottle represented good value. In general, screw-cap advocates tended to be over 45 years old, with the younger generation actually exhibiting more loyalty to cork. The survey was released in November 2003 by Wine Intelligence, a specialist wine industry research consultancy, who conducted the 1150-respondent online survey in August 2003.

Richard Halstead, Managing Director of Wine Intelligence, said: “These findings show that ordinary consumers are not yet willing to abandon a key element of the wine drinking ritual, despite evidence pointing to the better sealing properties of screw-caps.

“There is a danger here that retailers and wine producers will move too fast to embrace the new technology and in doing so alienate key segments of consumers."

Coming Home
When I returned home from my extended travels I downloaded several hundred emails from my online email server and then my computer crashed. I have now bought a new machine and restored what I could from backup CDs. But I lost all those emails so if you wrote to me and didn’t get an answer, please resend it.

If you have been, thanks for reading

© Peter May
27 November 2003

Any feedback? Send it to Peter.