Blair Walters winemaker believes this could be the best vintage ever at Felton Road. One sniff of this and you can see why. Lush perfume, flowers, rose petals, violets. Very precise, clean, beautiful finish, an absolute gem, as are the others (Cornish Point/block 3), but harder to find here. I tried the range at Felton Road two weeks ago. Available at Farr Vintners. Some stock at Tesco fine wine for £25 per bottle – one for a special occasion.
Tag Archives: New Zealand
Pinots of Central Otago New Zealand wine tasting trip – December 2010
I can’t imagine a more beautiful place in the world to have a vineyard – just awesome. Steep mountain ranges, valley floors, gorges, glacial waters of the Kawarau river, a fusion of light and landforms.
Aaron, Kiwi wine lover and psychologist and I started on our quest for the finest pinot in Central Otago at Bald Hills in Cromwell. Owner Blair Hunt showed us his lovely collection, after a long day on the road from earhquake hit Christchurch, via lunch at Riverside Kitchen.
The newly opened wine trail bike route in the Gibbston valley provided the ideal oppurtunity to explore Perigrine wines and Amisfield. More examples of superbly made beautiful, fruit filled sensuous pinots.
Day 3 was the highlight. We met Alan Brady, who planted the first vines in the Gibbston valley over 30 years ago and was the instigator for the wine boom here. After the initial embarrassment of not having his recently released book ‘Pinot Central’ but the one by John Saker, we were treated to a delightful tour. First of Gibbston Valley Winery then Mount Edward, followed by lunch in the sun. Surprised myself by ordering a rosé. Not normally much of a fan, these are 100% pinot and just delicious, with the most vibrant floral nose and supremely balanced palate that I am at last a convert to these rather unpopular numbers.
Alan is a true gent, humble for a man who has achieved so much here. He also rang ahead for us to arrange a tour of Rippon Valley wines in Wanaka the following day.
Off then to Felton Road and unfortunately just missed much talked about charismatic owner Nigel Greening. However had a tour and tried the wines.
The Holy Grail was found after four days of searching and 20,000km with four flight changes. All had been worth it. The passion/organic/biodynamic/terroir all came through to deliver a palatal treat – a real assault on the senses – wines gushing with fruit, flowers and complexity and something unquantifiable. The sense that a perfect harmony was present – bottled beauty!
While Block 3 was particularly good, we loved them all. Well done to Felton Road, and after this nothing really mattered (except Man Utd seeing off Arsenal the following day!) We still had some stamina, and well worth it too as Jane Docherty from Carrick was a great hostess to the fine wines of Carrick.
A great trip and now have the ammunition for a “Best of Kiwi Pinot” WanderCurtis tasting in the early summer!
Kumeu River Coddington 07 v Olivier Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères 05 er cru
Can’t compete with Adam’s recent jolly, but on a Kiwi note we tasted the above blind on 29th December. One light, the other a darker golden colour. On the nose the lighter was more closed with a touch of furniture polish; the other more woody. On the palette, the lighter with nicely balanced acid, fresh and minerally, taut but a little short; the other richer, fruitier, with more wood and more length, though at first a little harsh.
By now I had recognised the darker, richer wine to be the Kumeu River Coddington. Having read about how often the Kumeu chardonnays are mistaken for top flight Burgundies such as Puligny or Mersault (see Farr vintner blog for a similar blind tasting) I was a little disappointed at how easily we had distinguished the New Zealand wine and how different it was in character: much more extravagant and effusive. However the way the two wines developed in the glass was perhaps most interesting.
The Puligny improved in the glass showing more intensity, filled out a bit and developed more length, all refinement and restraint. The Coddington remained for a while dominated by the oak on nose and on the palette, pleasurable but a bit harsh. However as the evening wore on, I found myself wanting more fruit intensity and some nuttiness from the Puligny. The Coddington by contrast gained complexity and eventually completely dropped the oakiness in flavour of intense rich fruit, perhaps without as much balancing acidity as the Puligny, but nevertheless with just enough to keep it engaging. It continued to have good length and to be overall delicious.
The Coddignton was polished off that night and the Puligny the next day when it had really come together in a refined but more intense way.
Tasting the full line up of different single vineyard Kumeu’s at the Farr Vintner Xmas tasting the range of styles was apparent, from intense and steely like the Hunting Hill to luscious and perhaps a little flabby in the Mates vineyard. Perhaps one of the more steely vineyards would have matched the Puligny better, but for me the Coddington provided a good balance and delivered in terms of pure drinking pleasure all the way to the bottom of the bottle. It leaves me thinking that comparisons with aristocracy of burgundy are beside the point.
The Quarry Gimblett Gravels 2002, Craggy Range
Lovely savoury Chinese plum sauce, wood and damson on the nose. A rich mix of dark fruit, mocha and cocoa powder on the palette, again savoury, yet sweet and delicious. Develops a little in the glass, not hugely long but lots of pleasure. Age has rounded and softened the wine compared to the 2007 Sophia from the same winemakers. ***
Was available from the Wine Society but they seem to have run out. I’ve seen the 2005 from £40, which is a bit steep. Look out for Craggy Range Sophia, which is similar but more of a Bordeaux right bank blend for about £20, or the Te Kahu, a merlot and cab sav blend for everyday drinking.
Cloudy Bay Pelorus
A delicious sparkler, right up there with quality champagne. Made the same way, with two years on lees. Wonderful, chalky, yeasty, full of fizz and joy. Veuve Cliquot own Cloudy Bay. Currently on special at Majestic.
Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant
A true gustatory treat with friends Joff and Rene. We went for the seven course tasting menu. The highlight was risotto with shavings of Italian white truffle.
Wine list was an encyclopaedia with prices to match. Stayed sensible and went for an Italian gewurtztraminer from Alto Adige, very fresh (actually served too cold – should have complained but didn’t), floral and typical gewurtztraminer, but not perfectly balanced, with a slightly sharp aftertaste.
The wood pigeon was accompanied by a 2005 pinot noir Marlborough NZ Fromm vineyard. This was fruity, decent, but nothing special. Maybe I should have broken the bank after all and gone for the Felton Road for not much more.
Farr Vintners Christmas tasting
Held at the rather grand Vintners Hall on Upper Thames St, this was a great tasting with over 80 wines on show being served by some great winemakers, including Antony Barton of Leoville Barton and Jean-Charles Cazes of Lynch Bages.
Best wine of the evening was either Krug 1998 (not usually a big champagne fan, but this is extraordinarily complex and delicious), or Lynch Bages 2000, which had a heady nose of wood, bakery and sweet fruit, and followed through with a concentrated, complexity and real lasting depth (sadly £1250 IB).
Disappointments for me were Palmer twofold, as the Alter Ego 2007 and 2002 were light and thin, and not nearly as good as the 2008s I tried at the April UCG tasting, where they so impressed me. And by the time I got to the table someone had nicked the last bottle of 1996, which others said was great!
Also the Pichon Lalande 2005, 2004 and 2001 were all a bit insubstantial (thin according to the lady I was standing next to). The 2001 was best, so perhaps they need time to develop?
Highlights
All the Leoville Barton and Langoa Barton impressed me, including both 2007s at £340 and £280 in bond (IB) respectively, confirming the oft repeated statement that Mr. Barton manages fantastically high consistent quality. I would go for the 2001 Langoa at £275 IB, which was earthy and mushroomy with plenty of fruit and tannin, or the 2004 Leoville at £395 IB, which was tight, lots of cassis and should develop over many years.
Not only was the Lynch Bages great, but so was the Les Ormes de Pez 2003 and 2005 at £220 and £240. I overheard a group of gents busy telling Jean Charles what great value his wines were and had to step in and put a stop to it.
The CNDP Dom de Senechaux 2007 they own was also lovely, full of sweet sticky figs and long, delicious. But a slight fear it might be a bit one-dimensional, or perhaps just young from a great vintage.
I was impressed by the Verget white burgundies, having recently had a great trip there sampling lots of good wine. I have been feeling a bit stung by the general level of prices and the generally poor 2007 reds.
The various Chablis 1er Crus from £135-£195 were all of great quality, tight minerally and with depth. For me ‘Vaillons’ and Fourchaume VV de Vaulorens’ were the most tasty. But I would and may go for the Meursault ‘Tillets’ at £210 IB, which was tight, fresh, stone fruits with a light woody touch and core of minerals. I’d be interested to find out how it might age.
Top value for early drinking (this time confirming Adam’s general view) were the new world wines:
Kumeu River Estate and Hunting Hill Chardonnays at £130 and £150. Made to develop over 2-6 years. Exciting, oaky but totally balanced, and simply delicious.
Craggy Range, the Merlot Cab Te Kahu at £120 IB was gorgeous and will apparently age well (no chance of that at my house as it will be polished off pronto). The Merlot Cab Franc Sophia at £190 was also ***+ wine, and the Syrah Le Sol at £295 IB (so a £30 a bottle wine) was so refined and balanced that it concealed its 14% alcohol completely. It’s the heaviness of a lot of NW wines that I find hard to enjoy.
The mystery wine a Phelan Segur 2005 at £300 as case was also very good indeed.
Kumeu River Estate chardonnay 2006
If you love chardonnay, this one takes some beating. It has that perfectly harmonious balance of a class wine. It is instantly gratifying, just delicious. Heaps of buttery, luscious, crisp feelings and a hint of minerality.
I could drink this till the cows come home but managed to save some for Suzi. Well done Kiran for sourcing this. It was available at The Wine Society, and is now available at Berry Brothers for £20.00/bottle and Bennetts wines for £17.00.
Great value for a wine that will stand up to a top Pulingy/Chassagne Montrachet. This will be on our next blind tasting evening.
Farr Vintners are selling this for £130 a case in bond, so about £14.28 a bottle, which is great value. The only problem is the £500 minimum order through Farrs – anyone want to club together?
Alpha Domus ‘The Navigator’ Hawkes Bay NZ 2004
We spent a delightful weekend at Hotel Terravina in the New Forest. This place is a wine lovers paradise. It is the baby of Gerard Bassett (cofounder of Hotel du Vin). There are some 430 wines on the wine list. Gerard is an MW and hosts tastings. His selection is a revelation. Head sommelier Laurent happily stopped during a busy evening to show me the beautiful red-bricked wine cellar. There are two – one under the hotel and a stunning open plan cellar off the restaurant.
Alpha Domus has a rich aroma of berry fruit with hints of spice and oak, rather elegant with a firm finish. Available at approximately £13 a bottle at everywine.co.uk.
Not a blockbuster but happily recommend it.
WanderCurtis Wine 